Manager Sam Allardyce will leave West Brom at the end of the season, the club confirm.
Allardyce suffered his first Premier League relegation when defeat at Arsenal on 9 May ensured they would drop into the Championship.
The former Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland and England boss succeeded the sacked Slaven Bilic at West Brom on an 18-month contract in December.
Allardyce, 66, said he felt unable to commit to Albion for the long term.
He said: “West Bromwich Albion made me a generous offer to stay at The Hawthorns that shows the commitment of an ambitious club. After serious consideration, I have decided not to accept that offer.
“If I were to stay and achieve promotion next season the expectation would be for me to continue for at least another season and, sadly, that is not a commitment I feel able to make at this stage of my career.”
West Brom technical director Luke Dowling said the club had “very much hoped to have Sam in charge for next season and beyond”.
The club, promoted as Championship runners-up last term, suffered their 21st defeat of the campaign with a 3-1 loss at home to West Ham on Wednesday. They are 19th in the table, having taken 26 points from 37 games.
Allardyce’s final match in charge will be away to Leeds United on Sunday.
His assistant Sammy Lee and first-team coach Robbie Stockdale will also leave the club.
“Sam, Sammy and Robbie came in at a really difficult time for the football club and worked tirelessly in their efforts to keep the club in the Premier League,” Dowling said.
“Unfortunately, collectively, we were unable to achieve our goal of surviving relegation. In the second half of the season, we played with passion and desire, delivering some memorable results with organised, entertaining football.
“Ultimately, we were unable to accumulate the points total required to keep us here, but Sam certainly restored pride with a number of resilient displays.”
‘I am a short-term manager’
Allardyce was sacked by Everton in May 2018 after six months in charge, having taken the club from 13th in the Premier League to eighth – but he was criticised for the side’s style of play.
Before joining the Toffees, Allardyce had resigned as Crystal Palace manager after five months in charge, in what was his first job since a one-game spell as England manager.
“It was a long, hard decision with a lot of thought about what is best for me and the club. We chose our words very carefully. I am flattered they wanted me to stay on,” Allardyce said.
He added: “I was given the assurances over the budget but it is about me being a short-term manager. When you are put in that pigeon hole, that is how I see myself now, as a troubleshooter or a Red Adair. I didn’t expect to be in this situation.
“We fought and fought but were not quite good enough at the end. I was more confident we would get out of trouble. Chelsea away [a 5-2 win] was brilliant. I was sad we couldn’t keep those results up.”
On whether he will continue in management, Allardyce said: “We don’t last forever. I went 20 years without a break. It was only when I got sacked at Newcastle when I got a break. The tingle will never leave you. It is an addiction.
“I am not going to say I am retiring because I have done that before and it makes you look a fool.”
The news came as a surprise to the West Brom squad, as defender Kyle Bartley explained Allardyce only told the players when they returned to the dressing room at full-time.
“It’s a bit of a shock. I think most of us expected he would be here next season,” Bartley told Sky Sports. “He just said that he had come to a decision that he won’t be here next year. He thinks the club would be in better hands going in a different direction.”
Bartley added: “I thought he would have been fantastic for us next year. I’d have thought we would have a really good chance of going back up. But I fully respect his decision.”
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, said: “He was talking about being pigeon-holed. I think he was having a little dig. But four wins in 24 is not good enough.
“You cannot hide behind the numbers. He does talk about the lack of activity early in the January window when he could have got some players in more quickly. They need a big change of direction now in terms of the way they play.”
‘Allardyce will wait for the call from a club in crisis’
By BBC Sport’s Simon Stone:
Twenty-four hours after one former England manager confirmed he was stepping away from the club scene, Sam Allardyce has followed Roy Hodgson’s lead.
At 66, Allardyce is seven years younger than Hodgson. And while it doesn’t sound as though he is ready to abandon football management just yet, he was without a job for 18 months after he left Everton in 2019 before West Brom called in the middle of this season, so there can be no guarantees of another opportunity.
Indeed, given the clubs he has already managed, there are not a huge amount of obvious alternatives remaining for Allardyce to take.
A blunt, entertaining speaker, Allardyce has already proved adept as a pundit and will not be short of work if he heads in that direction.
And then, by his own admission, he will wait for the call from a club in crisis. Red Adair, Allardyce memorably said his mates have started calling him, after the renowned American oil well firefighter. He will hope there is one last fire to put out – and that when the chance comes, this time he is equal to the task.
Football’s firefighter? Allardyce’s managerial career
- 1991-1992: Limerick. First stint in management as player manager of the Irish club.
- 1992: Preston North End. Youth-team coach and a brief stint as caretaker manager.
- 1994-1996: Blackpool. First managerial role in England but sacked after failing to achieve promotion.
- 1997-1999: Notts County. Led them to the Third Division (now League Two) title in 1997-98.
- 1999-2007: Bolton Wanderers. Won promotion to the Premier League in 2001 and led them to a League Cup final and Uefa Cup qualification.
- 2007-2008: Newcastle. Left after just eight months in charge following a disappointing run of results.
- 2008-2010: Blackburn. Guided club to Premier League safety in his first season before he was sacked in December 2010 with Rovers 13th.
- 2011-2015:West Ham. Led Hammers to promotion to Premier League in 2012 but was sacked three years later following criticism of his playing style.
- 2015-2016: Sunderland. Appointed in October and guided the Black Cats to Premier League safety.
- 2016: England. Appointed Three Lions boss but left by mutual consent after one match and 67 days in charge following a newspaper investigation claiming he offered advice on how to “get around” rules on player transfers.
- 2016-17: Crystal Palace. Appointed in December 2016 and led the Eagles to Premier League safety.
- 2017-18: Everton. Finished eighth with the Toffees after joining in November 2017 but left in May the following year.
- 2020-21: West Brom. Took over from Slaven Bilic with the club 19th in the table but was unable to avoid relegation
