Gary Rowett skills appeal to West Brom owners as they hunt Steve Bruce replacement
Gary Rowett is one of the candidates to replace Steve Bruce as new West Brom manager, with his abilities appealing to the owners, The Mirror reports.
The now-former Baggies manager was sacked on Monday (10 October) with the team languishing in the relegation zone of the Championship, having won just one game all season.
The 61-year-old replaced Valerien Ismael less than a year ago and was supposed to kick-start a faltering play-off push last season, but that didn’t happen and things have gone further backwards in the new campaign.
Roy Keane, Sean Dyche, Carlos Corberan and Chris Wilder are all among the names that have been linked, but Millwall boss Rowett is also reportedly under consideration.
According to The Mirror on Monday night: “Gary Rowett is also of interest as he is used to operating on a modest budget in London which appeals to the Baggies’ Chinese owners.”
If he were to take over he would reunite with key summer signing Jed Wallace, who arrived from the Den on a free transfer.
Chase
The Bruce era will not be remembered fondly by fans of the club, or probably by the man himself, as his track record in the Championship didn’t help at all and things stagnated extremely fast.
It is a relief that the club have admitted their mistake at this stage, already too late for some, rather than let things rumble on to the World Cup or even the end of the season.
With the form this bad there is an increasingly realistic chance that Albion are in for a relegation battle if things don’t improve rapidly.
Dyche is surely the prime candidate if he can be convinced, but may be a tricky proposition to land after years in the top flight.
Rowett might not have the same standing as he did when he was removed from Birmingham City upon the change of ownership in December 2014, but has kept the Lions firmly in mid-table during his time there.
They are 13th currently, which is not where West Brom want to be but a lot better off than where they actually are.
He didn’t want to lose Wallace over the summer, who has three goals and two assists so far this year, so the familiarity could help get the best out of of the winger.
But whether the fact that his ability to work with a small budget is a positive or just a sign that investment is definitely not on the horizon makes that a double-edged sword for the supporters.
In other West Brom news, it’s not just on the pitch that there has been disarray at the club this season as the club shop fiasco shows.