West Brom board sticking with caretaker James Shan for trip to Bristol City
Albion's board will not make a knee-jerk reaction to James Shan's first defeat as caretaker boss – but will be looking for a response against Bristol City on Tuesday.
The Baggies were beaten 2-0 by relegation-threatened Millwall on Saturday on a disastrous afternoon that saw them miss a penalty, score an own goal, and receive a red card.
Although Shan is operating under a 'game by game' basis, he will remain in charge for the trip to Ashton Gate having stabilised the club with nine points from a possible 12.
Defeat at The Den has encouraged the board, however, to line up experienced coaches to help the caretaker, with one or two appointments now possible later this week.
Craig Shakespeare, who has previously coached at Albion and helped Leicester City win the Premier League as Claudio Ranieri's assistant, is the primary candidate for one of the roles.
Leaving Shan in charge with experienced help arriving is the preferred option for chief executive Mark Jenkins and technical director Luke Dowling.
The board recognise that Shan had a number of players missing through injury on Saturday, including Craig Dawson, Kyle Bartley, James Morrison, Matt Phillips and Gareth Barry.
However, they have not ruled out the possibility of appointing a different interim head coach until the end of the season should performance levels deteriorate further.
With just six games of the regular season remaining, the Baggies ideally want a temporary man in charge until the end of the season.
The club's primary managerial target, Alex Neil, is unlikely to be available until the summer, even though back-to-back defeats at Preston North End has left his current club five points adrift of the play-offs.
Slavisa Jokanovic will also be in the running come the summer if promotion isn't achieved.
Speaking immediately after the Millwall game, Shan admitted he was still in the dark over his length of time in charge.
"There's been no instruction from the hierarchy at the club to say you've got it until the end of the season," he said. "There's been no instruction from the club to say there will be changes in the next 24 or 48 hours or the coming days.
"I'm employed by the football club and I'll work under the instruction they give me. It's game by game and I'll continue to do that."
