46-cap former Scotland international appointed manager at EFL crisis club as ex-Rangers coach lands new role
Former Scotland midfielder lands first managerial role.
Former Scotland international James Morrison has landed his first permanent managerial role after being appointed the head coach of EFL Championship crisis club West Bromwich Albion until the end of the season.
The 39-year-old was placed in interim charge earlier this season when the club opted to sack Ryan Mason in January prior to the appointment of Eric Ramsay, taking charge of the FA Cup third-round penalty shootout win over Swansea City.
He was again placed in interim charge last week when the crisis club decided to end Ramsay’s spell in charge after just 44 days, and oversaw last week’s 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Oxford United. Currently languishing in 21st place in the EFL Championship, and just a point above the drop zone, the club have now confirmed he will remain in charge until the end of the season.
Retiring from football in the summer of 2019 after playing over 300 games for the Baggies, Morrison first began work as a coach when he joined the West Brom academy. Promoted to a first-team coaching role in December 2020 following the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager, he has remained part of the coaching staff in the Midlands ever since. Capped 46 times by Scotland, he also spent a year as a coach with the national team, forming part of Steve Clarke’s coaching staff between June 2023 and August 2024.
“I remain confident that one result will help bring another," said Morrison. "It will not be easy and we're going to have to work hard to get to that level. I completely appreciate that it can't have been easy being a fan this season – and I'm not going to ask them to do anything. This is about us showing the fight and desire expected of a West Bromwich Albion team.
"Our fans will respond to that as they always do, with wholehearted, passionate support, that raises the roof of wherever we're playing. I'm completely committed to getting us over the line, and I know from experience that when this club comes together in moments of adversity, it can achieve anything."
Morrison has also confirmed that former Rangers assistant manager Matt Gill will form part of his coaching staff at the Hawthorns until the end of the season, marking his return to football following a five-month absence after his departure from Ibrox.
The 45-year-old was named as Russell Martin’s assistant at Rangers in the summer, but left the club in October after the head coach was sacked amid a run of results that saw them win just one of the opening seven Scottish Premiership fixtures.
"Matt is a first-class coach with an outstanding character, and I am convinced he will help us turn the tide on what has obviously been an incredibly poor season to date," said Morrison, whose coaching group will try to stop Albion being relegated to the third tier for only the second time in the club's history over the next 11 games.”
A statement on the club website added: “Matt’s effectiveness with senior players was clear in his promotion to assistant head coach at the South Wales outfit in 2022—a role he maintained at Southampton during the 2023/24 campaign, helping them reach the Premier League at the end of his first term at St. Mary’s, and then Scottish top-flight side Rangers in the summer of 2025."
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