WEST BROM FC SACK COACH

Steve Clarke has seen his side slip to within two points of the relegation zone.
Steve Clarke has been sacked as West Brom manager, the BBC reports.
The sacking comes after Albion's 1-0 defeat to Cardiff meant that the
Midlands side have now lost four games in a row, and sit just two
points clear of the relegation zone.
West Brom have struggled for form throughout this calendar year,
winning just seven of their thirty-four games in 2013.
Clarke achieved West Brom's highest ever Premier League finish of
eighth last season but since Romelu Lukaku's loan finished they have
struggled to find goals this season.
Joint-assistant manager Keith Downing will take charge of affairs
until a new head coach is found and other assistant Kevin Keen has
also be dismissed. Clarke and Keen will remain on the club payroll for
the time being.
West Brom sporting and technical director Richard Garlick said: "We
have reluctantly come to the decision to relieve Steve of his duties
after very careful consideration.
"It has been well documented that we have not had the rub of the green
in certain games this season but that does not cloud the generally
disappointing points return during this calendar year.
"This club's track record proves we do not take such decisions
lightly, having only enforced a change in this position three times in
approximately 14 years.
"But with key games coming thick and fast, we felt it was important we
acted now to give the club the best possible chance of a successful
outcome this season.
"Our player wage bill is the highest in the club's history and we feel
we have built a squad capable of being very competitive in the Premier
League."
Clarke - who arrived at The Hawthorns in June 2012 - would have been
out of contract at the end of the season, and becomes the fourth
managerial casualty in the Premier League this campaign, with all four
of those teams in the division's bottom five places.