Exclusive: Kevin Phillips delivers verdict on link between Bilic and Fenerbahce
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has admitted that West Brom might need to worry about the future of manager Slaven Bilic if they fail to win promotion this season.
Before football was suspended, the Baggies were on course for a return to the Premier League with them sitting second in the Championship, six points clear of third with nine games to play.
However the current coronavirus-enforced half of action has left doubts surrounding how the season will be concluded and a report from Turkey has also emerged that has linked Bilic with Fenerbahce.
According to Fotospor, the Istanbul giants have turned their attention towards the West Brom manager after missing out on Roger Schmidt, who has been hired by PSV.
If the Baggies win promotion to the Premier League then Phillips is adamant that Bilic will want to stay put at The Hawthorns.
However the ex-Albion striker has suggested that if, for whatever reason, his former club fail to make it back into the top-flight, Bilic’s future could be up in the air.
When asked if he thinks ex-Besiktas boss Bilic could be tempted to return to Turkey, Phillips told West Brom News: “That’s a big question.
“It boils down to how this season finishes, really.
“If we were to reconvene and he took them up, then there’s absolutely no chance he’d leave. I’m sure of that because he would want to manage in the Premier League again.
“But, on the flip side of that, he’s proven what a good manager he is to take them from where they were.
“They were flat, on their backside after the loss in the play-offs so to come in and pick them up and go again shows he’s a good manager. It’s no surprise to see him linked with other clubs.
“I would like to think he would stay but unfortunately, if they weren’t to go up and had a chance to go and manage Fenerbahce, which we all know are so fanatical, he might consider it.”
You would think that by the time West Brom know what division they will be playing in next season, Fenerbahce would have found a new manager.
However that doesn’t mean there won’t be other clubs who’d be interested in Bilic, who has done a great job at The Hawthorns.
If Albion do miss out on promotion there could be fewer teams keen to hire him but if they do go up, you would imagine he’d be happy to stay.
In other West Brom news, Matheus Pereira would love to play in the Premier League with the Baggies.