Marti Cifuentes touted for West Brom manager’s job on one James Morrison condition | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on who should be in line for a full-time role at The Hawthorns.

West Brom head into the international break off the back of vital back-to-back victories to ease their relegation fears.

The Baggies made it consecutive wins in the second tier since the opening two games of the campaign, first mauling Hull City 3-0 at The Hawthorns and then backing it up with a precious 1-0 win away at Ashton Gate over Bristol City.

Prior draws to Sheffield United and Southampton means a four-game unbeaten run has propelled James Morrison's men four points clear of the bottom three heading into the final seven games of the campaign, with the squad full of confidence heading into their showdown with Wrexham on Good Friday.

You have to applaud James Morrison on a fabulous job so far. He’s realised his shortcomings in his opening game defeat to Oxford United, switching to a 4-4-2 system that has made the team so solid in their defensive duties as well as beginning to be potent in the final third.

If the Baggies can stay up through a continuation of such positive performances and results, then the Albion hierarchy will have a decision to make over whether to hand the reins to Morrison on a full-time basis or look somewhere else as part of a new project.

And with this in mind, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented over who should take over the Albion mantle heading into next season.

Marti Cifuentes tipped for West Brom job but James Morrison stance made clear

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has tipped former Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes to be a candidate for The Hawthorns hotseat next season, should the Baggies remain in the second tier, but would prefer current interim boss James Morrison to be handed the full-time role given there is such a limited pool of candidates.

Callum told FLW: “Personally, I don’t find the manager market, who are currently without a job in this moment in time, very appealing.

“It’s one factor why I would stick with James Morrison, and a lot of factors do depend on what division Albion are playing in next season, but I’m not entirely sure.

“Marti Cifuentes could be a good option, although he didn’t have the best time at Leicester, but I think the events beyond him have proved that he wasn’t entirely responsible for what’s gone on there, and he did an alright job at QPR, picking them up from very low in the table and establishing them as a solid Championship team.

“But I’m not convinced on one manager entirely, beyond Morrison, that is.”

West Brom hierarchy have a massive decision to make on the manager front

Controlling shareholder Shilen Patel will not be looking at who to appoint over the long-term just yet, given West Brom’s Championship status remains in a precarious place, but it may have entered his mind given they look more likely to survive after picking up precious back-to-back victories.

He will no doubt have a big decision to make, particularly when the majority of the Albion faithful are keen to see James Morrison given the opportunity after turning around what looked to be a rudderless set of players under Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay.

Out of all the available managers, Marti Cifuentes would definitely be towards the top end of the list given his experience at both QPR and Leicester, although the behind the scenes chaos in his latest role at the King Power Stadium has helped to slightly tarnish his credibility.

However, Albion did have great success with their last Spaniard at the helm in Carlos Corberan, so Cifuentes could be a steady figure to hand the keys to if Patel is against putting Morrison in charge.

But if the Baggies do stay up in the Championship, particularly in comfortable fashion, then there’s no reason to not see Morrison be the latest ex-Albion player to step into the dugout.

He’s brought back a fight, hunger and determination to the playing squad, while repairing the damage with the supporters, with everybody now on the same page and united ahead of a defining final run-in.

It does appear Morrison would be the best option, with the Baggies set to be working with another limited crop of managers available at the start of next season.