Chris Mepham has served notice to his West Bromwich Albion teammates and management that he intends to push hard for a regular starting berth, insisting that nobody at The Hawthorns has yet seen what he is truly capable of.

The Wales international centre-back made his first Championship start since suffering a hamstring injury against Stoke in February as Albion beat Watford 1-0 on Saturday, keeping a clean sheet in the process. It was the club's first shut-out of the current campaign, and Mepham was keen to underline that the timing suits him perfectly.

"It was really tough," he said on BBC Radio WM. "I've had a few injuries in my career, but I think 100% that was the most frustrating and difficult by far. When you're watching the lads in the position that they were in, you feel completely helpless; you feel that you can't contribute."

The 28-year-old, who joined from Bournemouth ahead of last season, was particularly candid about what it meant to be sidelined during a difficult period for the club. Albion battled against relegation under caretaker James Morrison following the sacking of Eric Ramsay, and Mepham admits watching from the physio's room rather than helping out on the pitch was a deeply uncomfortable experience.

"It's the lads going out there putting their bodies on the line every Saturday and Tuesday," he said. "To be sat in the physio's room was a tough place for me."

Competition from within

Mepham's path back into the starting eleven has not been straightforward. Captain George Campbell and Nat Phillips established themselves as the preferred centre-back pairing during Albion's bright start to the season, even though that duo conceded six goals across their first four Championship outings. Mepham's only involvement in the league had been a pair of stoppage-time substitute appearances before the Watford match.

He is measured about it, though. Rather than grumbling about selection, he frames the situation as healthy competition: "I like to think we've all got our own individual qualities; we're all different in our own way. For me today it was just about giving the manager as big a headache as possible."

That last line is not a throwaway remark. Albion go fifth in the Championship table after the win over Watford, and the depth question in central defence is one the coaching staff will welcome as a problem to have. Three capable centre-backs competing for two places is a foundation, not a complication, and Mepham's clean-sheet return strengthens the case that the squad can rotate without dropping quality.

Looking ahead

Mepham acknowledges that making claims about untapped potential is one thing; backing them up over a long, gruelling Championship season is another. He has 55 Wales caps to his name and was a consistent presence in the second tier at Bournemouth before his move, so the underlying quality is not in doubt. The real question is whether he can stay fit and force the issue when West Brom's fixture list becomes congested, as it always does in the second half of the campaign.

"I've been in this position before," he said, "and there's so many games, and your opportunity might come around quicker than what you might think."

On the basis of Saturday's display, the manager's selection headache just got a little more interesting. West Brom are in decent shape early in the season, and if Mepham can sustain this form, Albion's defence could become considerably more difficult to break down than the early-season numbers suggested.

Whether he is right that supporters are yet to see his best is something only time will settle. But the 1-0 win over Watford was, at the very least, a persuasive opening argument.

Frequently asked

Why did Chris Mepham miss so much of West Brom's season?
Mepham suffered a hamstring injury playing against Stoke in February, which kept him out for several months. He described it as the most frustrating injury of his career.
Who are West Brom's other centre-back options?
Captain George Campbell and Nat Phillips were the preferred pairing before Mepham's return, though that duo conceded six goals in four Championship games during Albion's early-season run.
How did West Brom get on against Watford?
West Brom won 1-0, with Mepham starting at centre-back. It was Albion's first clean sheet of the Championship season and moved them up to fifth in the table.