Pardew leaves West Brom on the brink of relegation

● Baggies ten points adrift at foot of table ● Dons boss Mcinnes outsider for the job

West Bromwich Albion have parted company with manager Alan Pardew with the club on the brink of Premier League relegation.

Pardew leaves the rock-bottom Baggies 10 points from safety with six games to go after winning just one of 18 league fixtures during a fourmonth stay at the Hawthorns.

Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Burnley was Albion’s 11th defeat under Pardew and eighth in succession.

Coach Darren Moore has taken temporary charge of the first team, with assistant head coach John Carver having also departed the club.

“West Bromwich Albion and Alan Pardew have agreed to mutually part company today following discussions between both parties,” read a statement posted on the club’s website. “The club would like to thank Alan and John for their efforts and wish them well in their future endeavours. First-team coach Darren Moore has been placed in charge of first team affairs until further notice.”

Leicester coach Michael Appleton, a former Baggies player and caretaker manager, is among the early favourites with the bookmakers to become Pardew’s permanent successor. Ex-foxes manager Nigel Pearson has also been linked with the vacancy, along with former Hull and Watford coach Marco Silva and current Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder. Aberdeen manager Derek Mcinnes, a former West Brom captain, is also quoted for the job by several bookmakers, but is further down the running.

Pardew succeeded the sacked Tony Pulis on 29 November but was unable to spark an upturn in results. His solitary league victory was a 2-0 success over Brighton in January, while he also managed FA Cup wins at Exeter and Liverpool. Albion have won just three of 32 league matches and look almost certain to end their eight-season stay in the top flight.

Pardew’s departure comes six weeks after the struggling club sacked chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman. His tenure was also marred by controversy after four of Albion’s firstteam players were accused of

0 Alan Pardew won just one of 18 league fixtures during his four months in charge at the Hawthorns. stealing a taxi during a training camp in Barcelona. The players – Gareth Barry, Jonny Evans, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill – were questioned by police but not arrested.

Pardew, whose contract ran until the end of the 2019/20 campaign, arrived in the West Midlands with plenty of managerial experience. His previous Premier League job was with Crystal Palace, who sacked him in December 2016 with the club 17th in the table. He has also been in charge at Reading, West Ham, Charlton, Southampton and Newcastle.