Alan Irvine sacked: West Brom dismiss head coach with Tim Sherwood favourite to replace him

West Brom are just a point above the drop zone

Alan Irvine will get his first taste of Premier League management with West Bromwich Albion (Getty)

Alan Irvine has been sacked by West Bromwich Albion, becoming the second Premier League manager to lose his job since Christmas after Neil Warnock left Crystal Palace.

Jeremy Peace, the chairman, has been growing increasingly concerned by the team’s form and finally decided to terminate Irvine’s contract after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Stoke City, which left the club just one point adrift of the bottom three. Tim Sherwood is the early favourite to replace Irvine, who lasted just six months in charge.

Meanwhile, Burnley have been given a boost in their attempts to survive on a shoestring in the Premier League, with their striker Danny Ings declaring that he will ignore any attempts to lure him away in next month’s transfer window and that staying until the end of the season is “the way it’s going to be”.

Ings is out of contract at the end of the campaign, a state of uncertainty which has led fellow strugglers Leicester City to be ready to make a £7.5m bid for the England Under-21 international. Though selling Ings would be a suicide note for Burnley, Leicester’s richer Thai owners could certainly potentially unsettle him. Ings said he would dismiss any offer.

Asked if he wanted to stay to help lead Burnley’s fight, the club’s most outstanding asset said: “That was the plan. I’m contracted until the end of the season and that’s the way it’s going to be. Now I can fight for the team as much as I can and do my best for them. [If an offer comes in] I won’t be looking at that.

I’ll just take that for my confidence and take it into my game and do as well as I can for Burnley. It’s quite easy to lose concentration for some people [when a flattering offer comes in.] But I’m not that sort of character. I’ve got a job here to do at Burnley and am contracted until the end of the season – and that’s the way it’s going to be.”