Next West Brom manager odds: Gary O’Neil early favourite to replace Tony Mowbray | OneFootball

West Brom are already looking for a new manager just three months after Tony Mowbray returned to the Hawthorns for a second spell in charge.

The 61-year-old won just five of his 18 games which has left them with just a very outside chance of making the Championship play-offs.

The Baggies were seventh in the table when he replaced Carlos Corberan in January, when the Spaniard left to take over at Valencia, and they now sit 10th, six points off the play-offs with two games left to play.

Mathematically, they can still make the play-offs and they have a superior goal difference to several around them, but in reality, they will be in the Championship again next season.

Many believe the sacking was a harsh one, especially as Mowbray recently spent time out of the game for treatment for cancer, but he knows as well as anyone that there is no room for sentiment in football.

The former Boro and Blackburn boss guided Albion to the Premier League 17 years ago when they won the 2007-08 Championship title, but the task of taking the Baggies back up to the top-flight now rests on someone else’s shoulders.

Next West Brom manager betting odds: O’Neil early favourite for Baggies post

Gary O’Neil has been installed as the early favourite with betting apps offering 3/1 on him being named boss but the Baggies board should be wary about appointing a manager with history at their local rivals.

The former Bournemouth boss was sacked by Wolves in December after 15 months in charge at Molineux, and although Mowbray had history at Birmingham City, he had been a Baggies favourite first.

On paper, though, O’Neil could be a good fit; his attention to detail could be the difference between turning some of their 17 draws this season into wins.

It’s no surprise to see Steve Cooper back among the favourites, after all he has been for just about every job that has been available since he was sacked by Leicester back in November.

Just a day after the Foxes' relegation back to the Championship, that decision might now seem the wrong one.

The club scored more goals, conceded fewer and were in a far healthier position under him than they are right now, winning just three games since Ruud Van Nistelrooy took over on December 1st.

His history at their rivals, Nottingham Forest, didn’t help him, though, as the fans struggled to take to him, which is behind the warning to the Baggies board about O’Neil - fans never forget, and to be successful, you need them on board.

Cooper does have experience of getting out of the Championship, though, guiding Forest back to the top-flight after a 1–0 win over Huddersfield Town in the play-off final at Wembley.

Another shocking decision of last season was Hull City’s sacking of Liam Rosenior after they narrowly missed out on the play-offs by three points, despite it being their first top-half finish since 2016.

Since then, he has taken charge of Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, while Hull are in danger of getting relegated to League One, as they sit two points above the relegation zone with two games to go.

Football betting sites are offering 5/1 on him taking charge at the Hawthorns but Strasbourg are seventh in the league table and only outside the European places on goal difference, so would he swap the French City for Birmingham?

Steven Gerrard is another name continually linked with jobs, since he returned from Saudi Arabia, but while he is 12/1 for this role, betting sites have him as the favourite to return to Rangers at the end of the season.

One name who could be a good outside shout is former Stoke and Southampton boss Nathan Jones.

He took Luton to the Championship play-offs in May 2022 on a limited budget, so who knows what he could achieve with the resources at West Brom?

Things didn’t go to plan for him at Southampton, but he is currently in charge at Charlton Athletic, who currently sit fourth in the League One table and could still achieve automatic promotion.

Former Albion midfielder James Morrison has been placed in interim charge, and with just two games of the season to play, they are unlikely to rush any decision.

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