West Bromwich Albion have named Alan Irvine as manager, to replace Pepe Mel. The former Sheffield Wednesday manager was appointed after Tim Sherwood reportedly turned down the job offer.
Irvine has a 12-month rolling contract agreement with The Baggies as the club heads into its ninth season in the English Premier League since 2002. Up until today’s appointment, Irvine was the academy manager at his former club, Everton.
Tim Sherwood was said to be the front runner for the new manager position originally, but Brom could not come to an agreement with the salaries for his coaching staff. “Following a detailed recruitment process, we decided Alan and the team around him are best suited to tackle the challenges we face in the Barclays Premier League,” said technical director Terry Burton. Irvine was selected after an impressive second interview.
Irving played professionally for 15 years and was a member of the Blackburn Rovers squad that won promotion to the Premier League during the 1991-1992 season. After retiring in 1992, he transitioned to coaching, joining David Moyes’ staff at Preston North End. He first became head-manager of Preston North End in 2007 and led Preston to 15th place in his first season.
Bringing in joint-assistant coaches Rob Kelley and Keith Downing, the duo will head to The Hawthorns with Irvine to begin the 2014-2015 season after finishing 17th in the previous season.
Since being founded in 1878, West Brom has spent the majority of their time in the top tier of English football including winning the FA Cup five times most recently in 1968, which was the last time they won a major trophy.
Irvine also managed Sheffield Wednesday and found success there in the beginning of their 2010-2011 season, winning Championship Manager of the Month in January of 2010. His success in Sheffield dropped eventually being regulated to League One at the end of their season and Irvine did not return to his role as manager.
