STEVE Clarke admits he is 'excited' by the prospect of facing his former employers Liverpool on the opening day of the Barclays Premier League 2012/13 season.
The new Baggies boss will kick-off the first competitive game of his reign against the Reds at The Hawthorns on Saturday, August 18.
Clarke only left the Anfield club at the end of last month after an 18-month spell as assistant manager to Kenny Dalglish, which included February's Carling Cup Final win over Cardiff.
"I was delighted to see we were playing Liverpool," he said.
"I've got nothing but good memories from my time at Liverpool so to face them in the first game, here at The Hawthorns will be fantastic.
"It takes a lot to get me really excited but this morning I was excited."
Clarke is relishing the chance to stamp his mark on a team having been a No.2 in the top flight for more than ten years.
One of the men he worked under at Chelsea was Jose Mourinho, who has been in touch via text to wish him well with his new job.
And Clarke also revealed he spoke to former Baggies boss and ex-Chelsea team-mate Roberto Di Matteo before putting pen to paper on his Hawthorns deal.
"I've had a text message from Jose," he added.
"He's on holiday right now so I don't want to bother him.
"Liverpool and Chelsea had a couple of important games towards the end of last season and I spoke to Roberto then.
"Before the league game at Anfield I sat and had a good chat with him about his time at Chelsea.
"And when I knew I had the chance to get the job here I spoke to him about the club, and he had really good things to say about Albion and the people at the club."
