Exclusive: Steve Cooper issued warning amid potential West Brom move | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has told FLW his verdict on Steve Cooper potentially taking charge at West Brom

Lee Hendrie is unsure whether Steve Cooper would be the right fit to replace Tony Mowbray at West Brom.

The former Leicester City boss has emerged as one of the leading contenders with many bookmakers for the role after the Baggies opted for a change in manager.

The 45-year-old is currently out of work after departing the Foxes in November after a poor start to the campaign.

West Brom will be hoping to appoint someone that can guide the club back to the play-offs, with the team set to miss out on a top six finish this season.

Steve Cooper warning raised

Hendrie believes that Cooper is capable of bringing West Brom forward if appointed, but warned that the squad is in danger of going backwards.

He is unsure whether the Midlands outfit are an attractive enough proposition for the ex-Nottingham Forest coach, suggesting it wouldn’t be the best fit.

“I think Steve Cooper is capable of doing so, yeah,” Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

“Again, I’ve said about the West Brom squad and players, they’re going to get to a stage where it is going to come up and catch them and bite them.

“And I think that’s what it’s doing at the moment.

“It’s got to be the right fit for Cooper.

“He’s proved what he’s done at Swansea, where he’s taken a good side [to the play-offs] — and they are a good side, there’s no doubt about that — but you’ve got to have the ability to take that club forward because it’s a big football club in the Championship.

“I don’t feel that they’ve strengthened in any way, so that’s why I kind of feel that they’re still probably on a backwards spiral.

“So, Cooper going in there, he will have his wits and he will know exactly what he’ll be going into.

“We’ve seen managers have gone in there and haven’t been successful, I’m sure Steve will be looking at a job where he knows that he can probably have a little bit more control.

“He had a bit of a bad time at Forest, but I don’t feel he had complete control of what he could do, what he could bring in.

“Personally, I’m not sure it would be the right fit for him.

“I think the Baggies would have to be looking at maybe someone else to come and take that job on.”

West Brom are currently 10th in the Championship table, six points adrift of the play-off places.

Cooper appointment could be promising for West Brom

Under the new ownership at West Brom led by Shilen Patel, the club have made some interesting moves in the market and have generally had money to spend.

Cooper has a proven track record in the Championship of delivering promotion-challenging sides, and was even successful in bringing Nottingham Forest to the Premier League.

While his time at Leicester didn’t work out, and there are reasons to be wary because of that, he’d still be a solid appointment.

This is a big moment for the owners as well because supporters will begin to turn on them if the next manager doesn’t improve their situation.