Slaven Bilic’s 18-month rule in West Bromwich Albion is over and, barring any late hiccups 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 informed of Albion’s decision at a meeting this morning at the Albion training ground.
Typically, Bilic took the news on the chin. There was a handshake with sports and technical director Luke Dowling and CEO Xu Ke, who shared the news that leaked last night.
The Croat then asked for the opportunity to tell his players about his departure. There was shock and grief in the squad that, overall, had remained loyal to Bilic. But in the cruel football world, Bilic then left the building and his team began the process to move on. Albion’s players completed a recovery session with fitness coaches after the excellent …