West Brom step up hunt for head coach as interviews begin
Albion hope to identify their new head coach in the next week after they started interviewing potential candidates.
The Baggies have now finalised the shortlist for Pepe Mel's replacement three weeks after the Spaniard left The Hawthorns.
And, with chairman Jeremy Peace and other key personnel now back from holiday, the club's directors will spend the rest of this week and possibly the weekend meeting the contenders before deciding on their chosen man.
They hope to narrow the search down to a final three before offering the job to their preferred candidate early next week. The Hawthorns hierarchy are now under pressure to speed up the process with concerns growing behind the scenes that the club could miss out on possible summer transfer targets because of the uncertainty at the top.
Work has continued to press on with strengthening the squad with free-transfer recruit Craig Gardner already on board for next season after his release by Sunderland.
But there is unease that the absence of a head coach could deter other players from committing early.
Former Reading manager Brian McDermott's odds have been slashed since he left Leeds at the weekend, but he remains around 8/1 with Paul Clement and Chris Hughton still ahead of him in the betting stakes, although neither is thought to be under consideration.