George Campbell ahead of Wolves v West Brom: 'Local rivals' at home like long haul here!

For Albion’s American skipper George Campbell, Sunday’s fierce Black Country derby will be a new experience.

Less than 10 miles separates West Bromwich and Wolverhampton, but the picture at his former club CF Montreal was very different.

Montreal’s closest fixtures in Major League Soccer were a hop over the border down to New England - a mere 220 miles or so.

The alternative, staying north of the border, was a 330-mile trek to Toronto.

Suffice to say, the recently-capped up United States international defender will not have experienced anything quite like the ferociousness of Sunday’s rivalry.

And that goes for on and off the field.

“I think the closest game there would probably be the furthest one here!” Campbell, 25, smiled. “The travel and the games is a completely different things.

“But in terms of the rivalry, respectively to Montreal, it won’t come close to this one.

“This one has a lot more history to it and means a lot to the club and fans. It’s a special game to play in - everyone wants to play in it and hopefully is giving the gaffer a hard time to pick the team because we’re both putting our best foot forward.”

Campbell’s wife will be in the stands at Molineux on Sunday, where she will be joined by the defender’s parents - for whom watching the national sport this side of the pond is not a regular experience.

The centre-back added: “On the pitch the biggest difference you see is the intensity of the games, from the US versus here.

“But more so for me is in the stands. If my wife goes to the game - or like my parents are coming to this game - I hear from them afterwards and that is almost the fun part, when I get home.

“It’s just how much passion it is in the stands, the chanting, all of the phrases, it’s just a different world over here and I’m trying to enjoy it.”

Campbell admitted barely a month into his time at The Hawthorns that he and his wife had immediately taken to Albion fans’ iconic ‘boing boing’ celebration.

For the one-cap USA international’s parents it will be the first time seeing Campbell lead out the Baggies with the captain’s armband.

Boss James Morrison turned to the bustling defender last month after prospective club captain Alex Mowatt’s surprise 11th hour departure for Derby County.

To lead Albion out in a Black Country derby at Molineux will undoubtedly be a proud experience for Campbell and his parents.

The former Montreal stopper, whose base back home with his family is Atlanta, Georgia, has flourished in the heart of Morrison’s defence both in the spring and this season.

He had previously won the hearts of Albion fans with a ‘getting on with it’ approach in a very unfamiliar right-back role under Ryan Mason in his debut campaign.

The captaincy is a new experience and Campbell admitted he has had to keep himself in check and not change the way he sees matches.

The American is always aware of the team quieting down - but such an issue is unlikely to rear its head at the Baggies’ arch-rivals on Sunday.

He said: “I kind of had to settle into that (captain) role, to settle back and breathe a bit and not let the responsibility take away from my role in the team and how we’re playing football.

“Nothing has to change too much on that end. I’m super proud and privileged. But I like to step back and make sure my role doesn’t change too much.

“I’ve always felt as a centre-back that it (communicating) is a demand, but if ever it starts to quiet a bit, there could be a time where I think to myself I have to be the one to raise it a bit.”

Head coach Morrison has admitted Wolves are the favourites heading into the Molineux clash, due to a recent Premier League pedigree and all of the riches that come with such status.

But Albion have started the season in vibrant style under Morrison’s new-look youthful outfit and a few are backing them to cause the Old Gold some problems.

“We’re a confident team at the moment and we’re trying to go there to win, not just nick a result,” Campbell added.

“That could be a big message from the gaffer but for me that’s a big message to myself and hopefully the group - that we want to go there to win and play good football.”

Albion have no fresh injury concerns heading across the Black Country, with long-term absentees Mikey Johnston (ankle) and Nolan Galves (knee) sidelined.

Galves is set to miss several months with the meniscus injury at Derby last week. His compatriot Brayann Pereira is back from a one-match ban that ruled him out of last weekend’s home draw against QPR.

Morrison has to chose from a surprise Pereira recall after barely half an hour of English football, or the expected decision of Callum Styles at right-back and Conor Townsend on the left.