Slaven Bilic’s reign for 18 months at West Bromwich Albion is over and unless there are problems in the negotiations, Sam Allardyce will be in charge of Sunday’s derby against Aston Villa.
Bilic and his coaching staff – Danilo Butorovic, Rean Racunica and Julian Dicks – were briefed on Albion’s decision at a meeting this morning at the Albion training camp.
Characteristically, Bilic took the news to his chin. There was a handshake with sporting director and coach Luke Dowling and CEO Xu Ke, who broke the news that leaked last night.
The Croatian then asked for the opportunity to communicate his departure to his players. There was shock and sadness in the squad that had generally remained loyal to Bilic. But in the brutal world of football, Bilic left the building and his team began the process to move on. The Albion players completed a recovery session with physical trainers after the excellent …