Richard Beale set for West Brom caretaker finale at Millwall
Albion caretaker Richard Beale expects to be in charge of the side at Millwall tomorrow – with an appointment thought to be unlikely before the Baggies' trip to The Den.
The club are understood to have progressed in their thorough search to replace Steve Bruce at The Hawthorns, and at one stage earlier in the week were hopeful on naming his successor prior to the weekend's clash.
Beale and his interim team have led preparation for the trip to in-form Millwall and the under-21s chief 'envisages' taking charge of the third game of his spell at the helm, following an away win at Reading and home reverse to Bristol City.
It is still believed Albion are nearing the conclusion of their appointment, with Carlos Corberan interviewed and thought to be a leading contender.
There is a likelihood that any would-be new boss will be in the stands in south east London tomorrow and a free week after the weekend, with no midweek fixture, lends itself as an ideal opportunity for the new man to step into his duties.
Beale said this morning: "I haven't had any more updates and I'm not part of the process.
"Like you, you see what's written and said, but I just carry on until I'm told otherwise and go from there.
"Absolutely (taking charge), we've fully prepped since Wednesday for taking the game and envisage taking the game tomorrow and giving everything we've got to take the three points."
He added: "I'm not part of that (appointment) process, that's in other peoples' hands, I know they're conducting a thorough process to try to get the right man for the job."
Gary Rowett's Millwall are one of the division's form teams after three wins on the spin. Beale worked as a youth coach under Rowett at Blues and is eagerly anticipating their reunion.
Albion dropped back into the Championship bottom three after Tuesday's defeat and a set of results tomorrow could send them bottom, but Beale is focused on finishing his caretaker stint in the best possible manner with similar celebrations enjoyed by away fans at Reading last Saturday.
"We've worked really, really hard for Saturday, both on the training pitch and analysis suite to try to improve on Tuesday and carry on from Saturday," he added.
"We go into the game very positive, and I mean that, if we do what we want to do on Saturday then it's been a really positive week.
"It's a similar game to last Saturday and we managed to get what we wanted to achieve last Saturday.
"So that'll be the aim again, of course Tuesday was disappointing, that's the nature of the game and this league, you don't win every single game.
"I know it's a cliché but you brush yourselves down and go again, I know I keep repeating it but the lads have trained very well, their attitudes are excellent.
"We go into the game looking for a positive performance and result."
Striker Karlan Grant is back in contention having recovered from a sickness bug.
