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Clarke confirmed as new West Brom manager

Steve Clarke is the new West Brom head coach © PA Photos

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West Brom have appointed former Liverpool first team coach Steve Clarke as the club's new head coach on a two-year deal.

Clarke, who departed Liverpool on Wednesday after Brendan Rodgers succeeded Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield hotseat, replaces Roy Hodgson at the Hawthorns - after the former Fulham boss left to take the England job.

Clarke has a wealth of experience in football, having also worked as an assistant manager at Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham before getting the opportunity to take full charge of first-team affairs at West Brom.

"I am absolutely delighted to be given this opportunity," Clarke said. "Becoming a head coach in my own right has always been an ambition of mine and I feel I have served my apprenticeship. I've done everything I could as an assistant.

"It's a process I've gone through, with a plan in mind to work as hard as I could alongside some of the best managers and coaches in the world, learning as much as possible from them, before stepping out on my own.

"I've taken something from every manager I've worked with and I've felt ready to make the step up for some time. I'm delighted West Bromwich Albion have given me the chance to make that progression and I'm determined to make the most of it.

"'I look forward to meeting and working with a very talented group of players and aim, with their help, to prove I can be a successful head coach."

West Brom's sporting and technical director, Dan Ashworth, revealed Clarke impressed the board with both his CV and his approach to the game.

"We firmly believe we have appointed the right man to keep the club moving forward," Ashworth said. "From the outset, we decided to pursue candidates who are renowned for their coaching ability and Steve was very much at the forefront of our thoughts because of the clubs he has worked at and the high regard he is held in within the game.

"After holding talks with Steve, he emerged as the outstanding candidate.

"Steve has worked alongside and learned from some top managers and, most importantly, he knows the Premier League inside out and what it takes to succeed at this level."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.