"That ship has now sailed" - West Brom told to avoid ex-Swansea City manager at all costs | OneFootball

FLW's West Brom fan pundit has advised the club not to target Luke Williams again

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Bromwich Albion are currently on the search for a new manager after relieving Tony Mowbray of his duties.

Mowbray only returned to The Hawthorns for a second spell in January following the departure of Carlos Corberan to Valencia, but he was sacked shortly before the end of the season after winning just five of his 17 games in charge, drawing four and losing eight.

It was a disappointing campaign by the Baggies’ standards, finishing ninth and four points outside the play-offs. For a side that was tipped to end inside the top six for large portions of the season, failing to do so spelled the end of Mowbray’s time in charge.

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes seemed the early favourite to fill the vacant position, however according to journalist John Percy, the Baggies are "still going through the recruitment process" and no candidate has yet been offered the role, while he also confirmed that Cifuentes is not on the club's shortlist at this stage.

When replacing Corberan in January, then-Swansea boss Luke Williams was linked with the job but the club ultimately opted to appoint Mowbray. Just over a month later, Williams was dismissed by the Swans, following a poor run of form.

West Brom told to avoid former Swansea boss Luke Williams amid previous pursuit

FLW's resident West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess, believes that the time has now passed regarding Williams, and hopes the club are looking for more ambitious options instead.

“I’d be very surprised to see Luke Williams linked anywhere near to the Albion job, especially after what happened the last time supposed interest arose in him,” Callum told FLW.

“He didn't handle it very well at Swansea, and it seemed like his agent was trying to get him a decent move or a new contract there, just for things to go absolutely downhill.

“When the interest in Williams came, initially I was open to him becoming the Albion manager, because I don't mind the style of football he likes to play.

“However, that ship has definitely sailed now. I've been surprised to see the calibre of jobs he’s been linked to since leaving Swansea, League One and League Two jobs.

"But I, definitely think that ship has now sailed for Albion.”

West Brom can shoot higher than Luke Williams in pursuit of Tony Mowbray replacement

Despite previous links between the pair, it would be quite a shock to see the Baggies target Williams this summer.

Unemployed since February, the 43-year-old has no prior experience of battling for promotion from the Championship, which is exactly what West Brom will be aiming for next term.

More ambitious options are sure to present themselves to the club over the next few weeks and if they didn’t opt to approach him earlier this season, it’s hard to expect the Baggies to target Williams now.

Only time will tell who West Brom choose to lead them forward next season, but the chances are it won’t be the former Swansea, Notts County and Swindon coach.