Struggling West Brom sack Slaven Bilic, name Allardyce new manager

West Brom manager Slaven Bilic has been sacked after 18 months in charge, with the club 19th in the Premier League, reports BBC.

The Baggies have gathered seven points from 13 league games, with eight defeats, though they earned a surprise 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Tuesday.

Assistant coaches Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic also depart, as does first-team coach Julian Dicks.

A club statement thanked Bilic and his coaching staff “for their efforts in achieving promotion last season”.

Bilic, 52, signed a two-year contract when he took over at The Hawthorns in June 2019, replacing Darren Moore.

He guided Albion to promotion on the final day of last season, as they finished second in the Championship. But they have won only one Premier League match this season, beating bottom club Sheffield United 1-0 on November 28.

It emerged after the draw at Manchester City that West Brom was considering whether to sack Bilic.

Tuesday’s match was the Croat’s 100th Premier League game as a manager. He led West Ham from June 2015 to November 2017, taking the club into Europe as they finished seventh in his final full season, recording their highest placing since 2002.

Prior to that, he had led Croatia to two European Championships, with a quarter-final appearance in 2008 coming after they had knocked England out in the qualifiers.

He has also had spells in charge of Hajduk Split, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas and Al-Ittihad.

Sam Allardyce has reportedly agreed to replace Bilic.

Allardyce is set to become the new West Brom manager with negotiations ongoing at the moment.

The former England manager’s last job was with Everton, which he left in May of 2018.

In an ironic turn of events, it was Bilic who previously replaced Allardyce at West Ham when he was appointed back in 2015.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he was “very sad” to hear of Bilic’s sacking.

“I think he’s done great for them, getting a promotion,” Solskjaer said. “I’m sure he’ll get a job again when he wants to.

“Hopefully more and more clubs and teams think long term. Of course, it’s a short-term business, we need results short-term as well, but everyone knows that continuity is key to success.

“Sometimes they don’t have the patience for it, though.”