Relegated Swansea and Stoke let go of managers, Moore gets West Bromwich job
>> LONDON: Two of the three clubs relegated from the Premier League showed managers the door on Friday but West Bromwich Albion bucked the trend by handing caretaker Darren Moore the job on a permanent basis.
Swansea City got the ball rolling with the departure of Portuguese Carlos Carvalhal, who had arrived last December on a contract that expired at the end of the campaign with an extension option.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said the South Wales club, who finished third from bottom and will be trading places with promoted local rivals Cardiff City, had decided to “move in a new direction”.
Whoever takes over at the Liberty Stadium will be the fifth permanent manager in two years.
Paul Lambert, appointed by Stoke City in January on a two-and-a-halfyear contract after Mark Hughes was sacked, was also on the move.
“The club would like to thank Paul for his work over the past four months and wish him well for the future,” Stoke said in a statement.
“Whilst he was unable to guide us to Premier League safety after being appointed in January, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort, professionalism and dedication on his part.”
The departures came with Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United looking for new managers and more heads likely to roll.
Everton sacked former England boss Sam Allardyce on Wednesday, after six months in the job, and on the same day that West Ham dispensed with the service of David Moyes.
Moyes, like Carvalhal, was also brought in on a short-term contract to steady the ship and had done what was asked of him in avoiding the drop.
Arsenal have yet to name a replacement for Arsene Wenger, with former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta emerging as a front-runner.
Bottom side West Brom kept their faith in Moore, however, after their former defender took them on an unbeaten run last month as caretaker after replacing the sacked Alan Pardew.
“He [Moore] embodies the spirit of the club and the spirit of what we are striving to achieve in this new chapter ahead,” West Brom chief executive Mark Jenkins said in a statement.
Moore’s successful stint on the touchline in the final phase of the campaign saw him named as the Premier League’s manager of the month in April.
“I am obviously extremely proud to accept this role and also extremely excited,” he said.
“We have a big summer ahead of us, a lot of hard work we need to get in now. I’m going all out to try to get those plans and personnel in place to make sure we’ve got everything ready.”
There were also moves in the Championship, with former England manager Steve McClaren appointed by Queens Park Rangers on a twoyear contract.
He replaces Ian Holloway, who was sacked by the West London club after finishing 16th in the second tier last season.