Sean Fisher

Fri 21 October 2022 11:10, UK

We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…

Sean Dyche was spotted watching as West Brom beat Reading, and Kevin Campbell believes it was to help him prepare for a meeting with the board.

Former Burnley boss Dyche is among a lengthy list of candidates in the running for the West Brom vacancy, but he’s the only one so far to be spotted watching the team from the stands.

While nothing has come from his visit just yet, Campbell thinks the 51-year-old was there on a scouting mission.

Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, Campbell said: “He [Dyche] may be watching a few teams, but maybe he’s gone there to watch West Brom as he might be going in to speak to them.

“Sometimes you do that – you just go and give it a once over – go and have a look so when you do have your meeting you can speak from a good reference point. You just never know.

If Dyche was trying to gauge the West Brom squad during the Reading clash, he’d have liked what he saw. However, overall the Baggies have been generally poor this season and he’ll know just how big the task ahead is.

His Premier League experience with Burnley puts him in a favourable position in West Brom’s search for a new manager, although he’s yet to find success outside of Turf Moor.

However he isn’t unfamiliar with a team needing to escape the drop – he frequently navigated the Clarets out of the drop zone in the Premier League.

As the Baggies look to fight their way up the Championship and look to return to the top flight in the long term, Dyche will be an exciting option for the board.

His appearance during the Reading clash was intentional and made it evidently clear that he was in the running to succeed Steve Bruce. Only time will tell how his meeting with the board unfolded.

In other West Brom news, Kevin Campbell urges board to get rid of Jake Livermore and Matt Phillips