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West Brom look set to appoint former Stoke and Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis
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The 56-year-old former Stoke and Crystal Palace manager is likely to be confirmed in the position on Thursday.
It is hoped he will be in the stands at Upton Park for West Brom's New Year's Day Premier League visit to West Ham.
It was thought Pulis, who likes his own back-room team and to be involved in final player decisions would have an issue with West Brom's 'continental style' set-up with a Director of Football. But whilst there are still some details to be decided the deal to make Pulis the club's fourth head coach in a year is expected to proceed without a problem.
West Brom will retain their continental structure - in which the head coach works to technical director Terry Burton and sporting director Richard Garlick, who in turn report to chairman Jeremy Peace.
But Pulis has been assured he will have full control of all first-team matters, including the buying and selling of players. Pulis worked in a similar setup at Stoke where John Rudge was sporting director and CEO Tony Scholes dealt with transfer negotiations.
The Welshman will meet with Peace for the first time on Thursday, and will bring in Dave Kemp - part of his coaching team at Palace and Stoke - as his assistant, but decisions are still to be made on the rest of the coaching staff.
All negotiations so far have been handled by Pulis's lawyer and his agent, who are both trusted long-term representatives.
Albion are 16th in the Premier League, a point above the relegation zone, following Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Stoke.
Irvine was placed on gardening leave on Tuesday after winning just four of his 19 league games in charge.
JB