Tony Mowbray hire: Update on whether incoming West Brom boss will be in stands v Stoke
Tony Mowbray will take his first West Brom fixture away at his hometown club Middlesbrough should he finalise a deal to become the new manager, according to Michael Walker.
The Athletic reporter (17 January) has revealed Mowbray is expected to watch Saturday’s game against Stoke City from the stands at The Hawthorns, should the agreement go through with the board as completed.
Mowbray’s anticipated appointment will bring an end to a managerial search which had lasted over three weeks since Carlos Corberan’s departure for Valencia, with talks falling through late in the day on Raphael Wicky.
The 61-year-old will return to management a year on from the bowel cancer diagnosis which forced him to step down as Birmingham City boss on medical grounds, having been cleared to return to work.
Tony Mowbray expected to take West Brom at Middlesbrough
While West Brom will be ultimately glad to get their managerial appointment over the line at last, Mowbray will have come full-circle in emotional circumstances in the past 12 months.
The promotion-winning former Baggies boss has made no secret of his affiliation with Middlesbrough, his hometown club for whom he both played and managed.
To return to work after such a horrendous ordeal for he and his family, back at the Riverside Stadium having begun a new chapter with West Brom, is a fantastic footballing story for one of the sport’s rare breed of universally adored characters.
Albion are directly competing with Boro and a host of others for another crack at the top six, which has fallen slightly out of their grasp following recent results.
The Baggies do however sit just a point outside the play-off places with the Teessiders directly above them; Stoke provide the first threat, and what is expected to be the final test in interim charge for Chris Brunt.
In other West Brom news, Don Goodman weighs in on Jed Wallace’s future in the West Midlands.
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