West Bromwich Albion have a big decision to make on the future of interim head coach James Morrison after his achievements in the second half of this season.
The former Scotland international has secured the club’s safety in the Championship with one game left to play, even in spite of a two-point deduction from the EFL.
Since taking over from Eric Ramsay, who failed to win a single game during his tenure in the dugout, Morrison has led the team to only one defeat in 11 Championship matches.
The Baggies have gone unbeaten in their last ten outings in the division and have kept clean sheets in each of their last five matches in the second tier.
Football Insider recently reported that Morrison has a great opportunity to be awarded the job on a permanent basis, but nothing has been officially decided as of yet.
Why West Brom may not appoint James Morrison on a permanent deal
It would make a lot of sense for the Baggies to give him the job on a permanent basis because of the exceptional run of form over the past ten games to secure Championship survival.
There could be few complaints if they do give him the opportunity to improve the squad in the summer transfer window and kick on in the 2026/27 campaign.
However, after taking risks on the inexperience of Ryan Mason and Ramsay this season, they may be reticent to believe that Morrison can sustain the current run of form over a 46-game season to aim for promotion.
|
West Brom managers since 20/21 |
|
|---|---|
|
Manager |
Win percentage |
|
James Morrison |
36% |
|
Eric Ramsay |
0% |
|
Ryan Mason |
33% |
|
Tony Mowbray |
28% |
|
Carlos Corberan |
44% |
|
Steve Bruce |
25% |
|
Valerien Ismael |
39% |
The 39-year-old boss has never been a permanent manager at first-team level and led a recruitment drive or dealt with the pressure of promotion, nor has he coached in the Premier League and shown that he can manage at that level.
West Brom could, therefore, decide to go down the more experience route by looking elsewhere to hire a head coach this summer, moving on from Morrison, despite his success.
The manager West Brom should appoint instead of James Morrison
With a view to the mid-to-long-term in mind, the Baggies could look to a manager who was linked with the role before Morrison was handed the reins until the end of the season.
In the day leading up to Ramsay’s departure from The Hawthorns, it was reported that the club were eyeing up a move to hire out-of-work head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, who left Wolfsburg at the end of last season.
One thing that the Austrian tactician has over Morrison is that he is a manager who has proven that he can manage successfully in the Premier League with a team fighting relegation.
|
Hasenhuttl at Southampton |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Premier League |
Games |
League position |
|
22/23 |
14 |
18th |
|
21/22 |
38 |
15th |
|
20/21 |
38 |
15th |
|
19/20 |
38 |
11th |
|
18/19 |
23 |
16th |
Hasenhuttl guided Southampton to safety four times before being sacked after just 14 matches in the 2022/23 campaign, and the Saints went on to be relegated without him in the dugout.
The 58-year-old boss, who once compared his style of football to “hard rock”, then went to Wolfsburg in Germany and finished 12th in successive Bundesliga seasons before moving on last summer.
Hasenhuttl, who was hailed as “unbelievable” by James Ward-Prowse, is not only a relegation battle specialist, though, because he also finished second and sixth in two seasons in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, and won the 2. Bundesliga with Ingolstadt.
His work with Ingolstadt is possibly the most relevant when it comes to West Brom. He took them from 10th in the 2. Bundesliga to winning the league title and then finishing 11th in the Bundesliga in the following two seasons.
The Baggies are in a position where they need to find a head coach who can help them to kick on in the Championship, whilst also having the potential to manage in the Premier League if they get promoted.
Hasenhuttl, on paper, is the perfect man for that job with his success at Ingolstadt, Southampton, and Wolfsburg, whilst Morrison does not have a coaching CV, yet, to reasonably say that he could do that.
That is why making a move for the Austrian boss could be a shrewd move by the club, even though it may not be a popular decision at first because of how well Morrison has done in recent months.
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