Hands off Irvine, Preston tell West Brom

Preston North End chairman Derek Shaw has warned Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion off making a bid for manager Alan Irvine.

West Brom, relegated from the lucrative English Premier League last season, are looking for a new manager after Tony Mowbray left to take charge of Scottish giants Celtic.

Irvine has won plaudits for his work with Preston since taking over at the Lancashire side in November 2007 for first keeping the club in English football’s second tier and then guiding them to the play-offs last season.

The former Everton assistant boss has been linked with the vacancy at Midlands side West Browm but Shaw told Preston’s official website: “I want to assure supporters that as I give this interview, first thing on Friday morning, we have not had any contact from West Bromwich Albion over the services of Alan Irvine – and we do not want any.

“If any calls came in then the decision would be down to the manager himself, if the terms of his contract were met, but this is something we would vehemently oppose.”

He added: “The last thing in the world PNE need at this time is to be searching for another manager – it would be a disaster for us.

“Alan has progressed the club over the past 18 months, and we want that progression to continue.”