West Brom keen on Celtic coach as part of backroom revamp

Albion are working to recruit long-time Celtic coach Gavin Strachan as part of a revamp of James Morrison’s backroom staff.

Morrison is keen to bring the 47-year-old, the son of Scotland legend Gordon, to The Hawthorns as he finalises plans for his first full season in management.

Strachan has spent the last six years on the staff at Celtic, working under the likes of Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou, Brendan Rodgers and most recently Martin O’Neill.

A former midfielder whose career included spells at Coventry and Hartlepool, he was previously assistant boss to Darren Ferguson at Doncaster Rovers and Peterborough.

Morrison has been working hard this summer to get his coaching team secured ahead of the club’s return to pre-season training.

He remains hopeful Matt Gill will remain at the club after the pair worked together effectively over the final weeks of last season, steering the Baggies to Championship safety.

Morrison is also interested in recruiting his former Middlesbrough team-mate, Tony McMahon, for a role at the club.

McMahon played alongside Morrison in the Boro side which won the FA Youth Cup in 2004 and was most recently director of football at York City.

Morrison, who was appointed the club’s permanent head coach at the end of the season, previously confirmed his staff was likely to be reshuffled during the summer.

The 40-year-old turned down the chance to add further to his backroom team during the run-in.

He said: "It (the staff) could be (tweaked). Obviously I was looking into someone but felt I didn't need to in the end.

"I met with a couple of people but felt there was not any need to bring anyone in.”

Albion are also close to their first signings of the summer with deals for strike duo Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

Stewart is poised to join from Falkirk for a seven-figure sum, with 20-year-old Morgan arriving from Chelsea for a fee of around £1.3million.