West Brom spent a week negotiating with Slaven Bilic trying to come to an agreement over his wage demands before the two parties “managed to meet somewhere in the middle”, according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett.
The broadcaster journalist claimed live on Sky Sports News (13/06, 15:40) that much of the discussion behind the scenes at the Hawthorns focused on the money that Bilic would get for taking charge of the Baggies, with the Championship side having gone without a permanent manager for three months following Darren Moore’s departure.
West Brom confirmed Bilic’s appointment on Thursday afternoon, Dorsett revealing he had significant demands in terms of his wage to take charge.
He told Sky Sports News: “There was a lot of haggling and negotiating over the last week or so over salary – because Bilic doesn’t come cheap, let’s be honest – they managed to meet somewhere in the middle.”
Opinion
As a former Premier League and international manager you can understand why Bilic wanted to make sure he was paid what he feels he is worth but at the same time it is a shame that money was at the forefront of his mind. It would have been refreshing to hear that the conversation focused on what the club could promise him in terms of transfer fees and investment to improve the club, rather than how much money is going to be heading into his pockets. While alarm bells need not be ringing just yet, it does make it sound like this is a move which Bilic has taken on in his, rather than the club’s best interests and as such is he going to be fully committed to making sure everything is perfect to bring the club success? It is too early to doubt him but this revelation over what took the club so long to get him over the line might well have planted a little seed of doubt at the back of supporters’ minds.