Mark Lawrenson backs Chris Wilder as ideal manager for West Brom

Mark Lawrenson believes West Brom and Chris Wilder are a match made in heaven after reports linking him as Sam Allardyce’s successor.

Sky Sports claimed on Thursday that the ex-Sheffield United manager is sat alongside Frank Lampard at the top of the Albion wishlist to replace Big Sam, who announced on Wednesday that he would be leaving his post at the end of the season.

Speaking on the BBC Sport website, former Liverpool defender Lawrenson is backing Wilder for the job.

West Brom

He said: “I’m not surprised former Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is being linked with the West Brom job now Sam Allardyce has said he is leaving.

“Wilder is available, he knows the Championship and he knows how to get teams promoted.

“It seems like the perfect fit to me.”

west brom

Credentials check out…

The absence of VAR may be a welcome sight in the Championship next season but the reality is that we all went to get back to the Premier League as soon as possible.

The top-flight brings in more revenue which allows us to buy bigger players and progress as a club which ultimately has to be the aim.

Ensuring a speedy return to the Premier League is vital to ensure we don’t get dragged back down and end up like other clubs like Sunderland who are now languishing in League One after a lengthy spell at the top.

There are surely not many managers more qualified than Wilder to help us achieve immediate promotion from the Championship.

He’s been there and done it with Sheffield United, inspiring the Blades to a second-place finish in 2018/19 before a brilliant debut campaign in the Premier League.

It turned sour this season as he was sacked with the Yorkshire club rooted to the bottom but he knows how to get out of the Championship and how to stay there for a season.

Maybe he won’t be best suited to the long term ambitions of the club, but he’s certainly got the credentials in the short term.

In other West Brom news, Albion star may have played his final game for the club after alarming update from Sam Allardyce.

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.