Former West Brom midfielder and coach takes over at League One strugglers after Gareth Ainsworth shock

The ex-Albion midfielder, who was forced to retire in 2001 after a lengthy battle with a knee injury, became a coach at the club before going on to manage a number of EFL clubs.

Now he has been taken over at struggling Shrewsbury Town - who have endured a dramatic 48 hours, with former QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth walking away from the club just four months after taking over.

Ainsworth, who enjoyed success with Wycombe before an ill-fated spell with QPR, departed with the club bottom of the League One table to drop a division and take over at League Two strugglers Gillingham.

Salop have turned to the former Albion boss Appleton boss, with the 49-year-old taking over until the end of the campaign.

Appleton's coaching journey began at Albion, as he rose through the age groups following his premature retirement.

He joined the first team staff and was briefly interim manager following Robert Di Matteo's sacking.

He then went on to manage Portsmouth, Blackpool, Blackburn, Oxford, Lincoln and Charlton. He also had a brief spell back at Albion, coming back in alongside Steven Reid to assist Jimmy Shan at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

It was rumoured that Appleton was in the frame to land the manager's job that summer - and he has been linked with the job on a number of occasions.