West Brom plot swoop to hire Welsh manager with Bilic hours away from sack – report
West Brom are set to sack Slaven Bilic in the coming hours and have drawn up a list of three names of potential successors, according to talkSPORT.
The broadcaster reports that former England manager Sam Allardyce is their number one target while Mark Hughes and Nigel Pearson are also under consideration.
Albion have won just seven points from their first 12 Premier League matches this season and even though Bilic’s men sealed an impressive 1-1 draw away at Manchester City on Tuesday night, it wasn’t enough for him to escape the axe.
Hughes out of the blue
Since his short spell at Southampton ended with him being sacked in December 2018, Hughes has been out of work and not really talked about when other Premier League jobs have come up.
Kevin Phillips has exclusively told West Brom News in the last week that he could see Allardyce and Pearson as possible replacements for Bilic but not a thought was spared for Hughes.
The 57-year-old Welshman has a lot of experience in Premier League management thanks to spells at Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR and Stoke before that short stint at St Mary’s.
He lasted a long time at Stoke, doing the job that Tony Pulis did before him of keeping them in the Premier League and for a while, getting them to play slightly more attractive football than his predecessor.
Hughes won’t be a popular pick among Baggies fans, though.
Bilic, for all his flaws, is a popular guy, a rock ‘n roll manager who we’re glad to have as the face of our club.
Hughes won’t be that. Too many people will remember how his spells at Stoke and Southampton turned sour at the end of them.
Out of the three managers talkSPORT mention, we’d be happiest with Pearson.
In other West Brom news, this ex-Albion star admits the Baggies should sack Bilic.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.