Two managers tipped to take West Brom job amid Slaven Bilic suggestion

The latest West Brom news as Sky Sports pundit David Prutton comments on Albion's search for a new manager

Ste McGovern Sub-Editor & Football Writer

17:01, 11 Oct 2022Updated 17:01, 11 Oct 2022

Slaven Bilic, the last man to get West Brom to the Premier League.

David Prutton has suggested that West Bromwich Albion should have sacked Steve Bruce sooner in order to rehire former manager Slaven Bilic.

The Croat was installed as Watford manager last month, two years after he was sacked by the Baggies in the middle of their most recent Premier League campaign. He's the last man to get the club promoted to the top flight with both Valerien Ismael and Bruce failing to meet expectations.

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Now West Brom are looking for a replacement to the latter following just one win in 13 games in the Championship, two weeks after Bilic became the Hornets boss. Prutton says they could have got him back if the club had taken more decisive action earlier.

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The former Southampton and Leeds United midfielder does, however, believe that Sean Dyche and Chris Wilder are two standout names that are currently without work. He says their "wonderful" work in getting teams to the first tier in the past makes them great candidates for the job, but warns that qualifying for the playoffs is still a must despite their poor start.

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"If they had acted sooner they might have got someone who had already taken them up to the Premier League in Slaven Bilic," Prutton told Sky Sports.

"I think Chris and Sean are both very workable names, men that have done wonderful things with football clubs to get them into the Premier League. And in Sean's case at Burnley, keep them in there for a sustained period of time. So those are two names that immediately jump out.

"Whoever goes in needs to understand the weight of responsibility, the need to get something out of a very sound squad that needs an elevation, not just in terms of output but consistency as well and belief. Confidence is absolutely key, so if you can get that back into the players you've got a team that can be moved forward.

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"On the flip side, Steve had eight months; nowadays in the Championship that's a decent amount of time to show what you can do with a group of players. So whoever comes in that first port of call has to be the top six."

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