Relegated West Brom have a new man at the helm. Former Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo has been unveiled as the new manager, despite rumours that Alan Irvine was the man for the job. The 39 year old is leaving MK Dons to succeed Tony Mowbray who has gone to Celtic.

It’s interesting to note that Di Matteo has been given a 12-month rolling contract which must be causing the fans a bit of trepidation as all they want is a bit of stability, not to mention their place back in the Premiership, of course. However, Di Matteo comes with a pretty good pedigree as both a player and a manager.

He led MK Dons to third place in League One during his first year in charge but saw the team lose on penalties to Scunthorpe in the semi-finals of the play-offs last season.

Club chairman Jeremy Pearce said that over 40 names were thrown into the hat for the manager’s job but only two outstanding candidates were short-listed. We now know they were Di Matteo and Alan Irvine. It’s not clear whether Irvine actually went for an interview or not or whether he was offered the role before Di Matteo. In any event, he has pledged to say with Preston, a decision fans have been applauding.

Di Matteo takes with him from MK Dons Eddie Newton as assistant head coach and Ade Mafe as fitness coach. Number one priority will be to win promotion in the first season, perhaps the reason for that 12-month rolling contract. The Hawthorns will be asking a lot of their manager and will want him to deliver.