The process to identify and recruit Carlos Corberan's successor is well and truly underway at West Bromwich Albion. The Spaniard left the club on Christmas Eve to take over as manager of La Liga strugglers Valencia, which for him and his family means returning home. He leaves Albion on the brink of the Championship play-off places, having inherited them in the relegation zone a little over two years ago.

An interim team of Chris Brunt, Boaz Myhill and Damia Abella have been placed in charge in the meantime. The trio oversaw the narrow Boxing Day defeat at Derby County on Thursday evening and, until further notice, will prepare the squad for this glut of festive fixtures - Albion head to pacesetters Sheffield United on Sunday before entertaining Preston North End on New Year's Day and making for Swansea City the following Saturday.

The noises coming out of The Hawthorns suggest that Albion's intentions to find a suitable successor to Corberan won't be rushed simply to ensure a new manager is in place at the earliest opportunity; the hierarchy are eager to make the right call and, in order to do so, are willing to lean on Brunt, Myhill and Abella for the foreseeable future to oversee first-team responsibilities. If it takes until the FA Cup trip to Bournemouth next month, then so be it.

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Bilkul chief executive Andrew Nestor, who assumed sporting director responsibilities in August, is leading the recruitment process. Nestor, who has accumulated plenty of experience of football on the continent, namely from his spell at Bologna where he helped to revive the club which has propelled itself into the Champions League since, is working with Ian Pearce as Albion look for the ideal candidate.

A shortlist has been drawn up by the club. As expected, it's a particularly eye-catching vacancy which has attracted the attention and the applications of many managers. Bilkul have introduced a more prudent approach to the way Albion work - indeed returning more to what the club proudly used to be able to champion during the days of Dan Ashworth et al - and, acknowledging that managers come and go, they've prepared for this eventuality.

Since Corberan requested permission to make the move to Valencia, Albion have creaked into gear behind the scenes, despite the Christmas period; they've refined their list of potential targets and will now hone in on selected candidates, all under the umbrella of an approach which means that Albion will have a consistency which spans more than one head coach moving forwards.

The ideal Albion candidate will be able to implement an expressive brand of football, who can demonstrate tactical prowess and is analytically shrewd, as well as possessing the man management skills required to motivate and ensure they can get the best out of the squad available to them.

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