Former West Brom striker Cyrille Regis believes the recent exploits of local rivals Birmingham and Wolves will help Roberto Di Matteo's side believe they can stay in the Barclays Premier League.

Albion won promotion to the top flight for the fourth time in nine seasons last term, but have only managed to avoid immediate relegation the following year on one of the three previous occasions.

Fellow Midland sides Birmingham and Wolves both managed to beat the drop in 2009-10 after coming up from the second tier and Regis feels their achievement can inspire the Baggies in their quest for survival.

"It is a challenge not just for Di Matteo, but for the chairman and the players to keep Albion in the Premier League," Regis told Press Association Sport.

"If you look at Birmingham and Wolves, the local rivals, they managed to do it last year and I'm sure that will give us a lot of confidence that we can do it.

"There will need to be a bit of tinkering with the side, bringing in a few new players to freshen it up. With a few more quality players in, hopefully we can stay up."