Slaven Bilic sacked: West Brom dismiss manager with Sam Allardyce favourite to take over

Slaven Bilic has been sacked by West Bromwich Albion after winning just one of their 13 matches this season, with Sam Allardyce poised to make a Premier League return until the end of the season.

The 52-year-old Croatian Bilic was dismissed on Wednesday fewer than 24 hours after securing a 1-1 draw with Manchester City, with the club 19th in the Premier League table two points adrift of safety. The former West Ham boss becomes the first manager in the top flight to be dismissed since the 2020/21 campaign started.

As part of the restructuring, several members of Bilic’s backroom staff will follow him out of the door, with the playing squad informed of the news on Wednesday morning.

A club statement read: “West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with head coach Slaven Bilic.

“Assistant coaches, Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic, and first team coach Julian Dicks have also left the club with immediate effect.

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“Albion would like to thank Slaven and his coaching staff for their efforts in achieving promotion last season and wishes them all well in the future. The club will make no further comment at this time.”

Despite avoiding defeat against Pep Guardiola’s side, Bilic has paid the price for West Brom’s porous defence this season, with the Baggies conceding more goals than any other side in the league. Their only victory this season came in the form of a 1-0 victory over basement side Sheffield United, a result last month that was followed by a heavy 5-1 loss to Crystal Palace and a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle that triggered moves behind the scenes to end his reign at The Hawthorns.

West Brom has secured only four wins since February and the failure to beat any side above them in the Premier League this season triggered fears that a change at the top was required to shift the momentum in their favour if the club are to have any chance of surviving relegation, meaning Bilic was dismissed after 18 months in the job - just five months on from leading them to promotion from the Championship.

With West Brom desperate to remain in the top flight to take advantage of the lucrative broadcast deals on offer, they are poised to bring in former England manager Allardyce, who has been out of work since the end of the 2017/18 campaign after Everton chose not to renew his contract.

The 66-year-old, who was replaced by Bilic at West Ham five years ago, is understood to have signed an 18-month contract until the end of next season, though West Brom have the option of a break clause in the deal at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

Allardyce is expected to be in charge for Sunday’s local derby against Aston Villa, though he will need to provide a negative coronavirus test before being granted access to the training ground to begin his work with the club.

Bilic leaves the club after growing frustrated towards the start of the season with their lack of ambition in the transfer market, having seen their spending limited to just £20m despite being promoted from the Championship last term.

But speaking after Tuesday night’s draw at the Etihad Stadium, Bilic played down any fears over his job security as speculation emerged he was at risk of being sacked.

"I'm very calm. I love my job. I'm here and calm," said Bilic. "To be fair, I'm not bothered. I'm doing my job. I'm enjoying it. I'm working hard for myself, for my staff, for the players, for the club, that's all.

"Everything else is out of my control. But to be fair, I'm just doing my best. I don't think about other things.

"I'm not really that bothered what's happening behind the scenes and all that, I don't care."