West Brom legend Ally Robertson believes his former club should look to appoint Chris Hughton as their next permanent manager.
The Baggies are still on the hunt for a successor to James Shan, who left his interim head coach post at the Hawthorns following his side’s failure to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic and Troyes manager Rui Almeida are among the names currently being mooted, but Robertson – who made over 500 appearances in his time with West Brom – feels Hughton, one of the first names in the hat, should be appointed.
“I want somebody that’s been there and done it,” the 66-year-old told the Express & Star. “Someone with a bit of experience. That’s what I would go for. We have to rebuild a squad, that is the biggest part of the job.
“That’s why hopefully we get in an experienced manager that knows how to do that, although of course he’ll need to club to back him. Someone with a few years under their belt would know people in the right areas to get players in on loan.
“Chris Hughton has been there and done it all, he knows what’s needed for this division. For me, he would be brilliant. He would be the best manager we could get. He would be the one I would get in.”
OPINION
West Brom fans must be getting sick of all this speculation by now. There have been so many names mentioned you can’t quite believe it, and the hope from Baggies fans must be that the club makes a decision one way or another in the very near future. Let’s face it, all the names that have been mentioned would be good candidates, but Bilic and Hughton especially. Hughton got Brighton promoted and kept them there for two seasons, so it is quite fortunate in some ways that a manager of his ilk is available. Bilic, meanwhile, impressed in his first season at West Ham but went drastically downhill from there. Whoever gets the job, they have a tough time on their hands. There were a lot of loan stars – such as Harvey Barnes ad Dwight Gayle – who did a stellar job for the Baggies last season but – as of the current moment – will not be at the club next season. Whoever gets it needs to replace them, and rebuild the squad around them.