West Brom caretaker boss James Shan has insisted he just wants what is best for the club as their hunt for a manager continues.
The former coach has taken charge of the first team for their games since Darren Moore’s departure and has done an admirable job, keeping the Baggies’ hopes of securing a play off finish well and truly alive with two consecutive victories.
With the possibility he could be handed the job until the end of the season, Shan insists he would like to do the role on a permanent basis but admits all he wants is whatever is best for the Hawthorns outfit.
He told the Express and Star: “If the football club instructs me to do so then yes, of course, I’d like to continue. But my best interests are not for James Shan – they are for the football club.
“It’s whatever the football club decide to do. I have been here a long time and I have seen lots of changes at the football club. That change has been quite regular at the top.
“I think Chris Brunt made a statement the other day that he’s had 13 managers in the 10 years he has been here, I have been 13 years. Whatever this football club decides is best for the club and its promotion push – I will support that 100 per cent.”
Opinion
As Shan says, he has been at the club for over a decade and has seen the changes, both good and bad, over the years. There will be very few working in and around the first team squad who have the experience and knowledge that the current boss of the Baggies does and it is no doubt one of the reasons he is being trusted by the top brass to lead the side right now. However, his lack of managerial nous must surely be something for the club to consider carefully, especially having swung the axe on Moore. The former boss found himself put into the dugout in a similar situation to the one Shan finds himself in now and while he got through the majority of the season he still found himself booted out when the going got tough. It would be a little hypocritical, not to mention a gamble, if the Baggies board were to hand Shan the job ahead of someone with more experience.