West Bromwich Albion have sacked Slaven Bilic and appointed Sam Allardyce as his successor.
Bilic guided his side to a 1-1 draw against Manchester City last night but it was not enough to save the Croat from the axe with the Baggies currently 19th in the Premier League having taken seven points from their opening games.
Assistants Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic as well as first team coach Julian Dicks followed Bilic out of the door.
"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," West Brom said in a statement. Bilic had guided the club to promotion from the Championship last season but their only Premier League win this term came away to Sheffield United on November 28.
Bilic had just over six months remaining on the contract he signed when he replaced Darren Moore in June 2019 but talks had not taken place over an extension.
We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Sam Allardyce as our new Head Coach ✍️
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) December 16, 2020
Former England manager Allardyce will replace Bilic with the Baggies due to face local rivals Aston Villa at the Hawthorns on Sunday. The 66-year-old has developed a reputation as a specialist in keeping teams away from the Premier League relegation zone and would be managing his eighth top flight club should he finalize his move to Albion.
Born in Dudley and a fan of West Brom's great rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, Allardyce worked as a player coach at the Hawthorns between 1989 and 1991.
