West Bromwich Albion sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth has insisted that the club are prepared for the possible loss of boss Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson is expected to be named as England manager before the end of the week, but Ashworth has claimed that there are plans in place to replace the 64-year-old.

"Where we are strong as a club is in terms of our long-term planning. After Roberto Di Matteo joined us as manager, I said we were looking at other managers and studying them so, in the event of him leaving, we would have a number of candidates in mind," Ashworth told reporters.

"I took a lot of stick for that with people saying it undermined the head coach. Well he was so undermined that he got us promoted. Looking at what might happen next is not disrespecting or undermining anyone. We were simply looking at who might be a good fit here should a change be needed.

"You don't want a decision to suddenly drop out of the sky and you sit there twiddling your thumbs thinking 'what do I do now'. You need to have some form of succession planning and that's the same with coaches, scouts, doctors, sporting and technical directors etc."

Birmingham City boss Chris Hughton has been linked with the post.