By Danny Mills

19th Jul, 2020 | 8:00pm

'Look what's happened with Bielsa' - Exclusive: Mills in huge claim about West Brom big name

West Brom must hang on to Slaven Bilic this summer even if they don’t win promotion to the Premier League, according to Danny Mills. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former England international referenced Leeds United’s decision to persevere with Marcelo Bielsa at the helm despite narrowly missing out on promotion last season.

The Whites have reaped the rewards of that call this term, and secured their long-awaited return to the top flight on Friday evening after Albion dropped points against Huddersfield Town.

The Baggies now go into their final game of the season against QPR locked in a three-way tussle for the second automatic promotion spot alongside Brentford and Fulham.

But even if they do miss out on a top flight place next season, Mills believes that Bilic must still be in the dugout for the 2020/21 campaign.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “He has to stay. I think they have to keep him.

“The only issue they might have is that he might be courted by other, bigger clubs – Premier League clubs. That might be their problem.

“But look what’s happened with Bielsa. Just cause they didn’t quite go up one season, is it a reason to get rid of the manager? No, it’s not.

“A couple of bad results or a bad month don’t make you a bad manager.”

West Brom know that they must win in midweek to guarantee themselves a spot in the Premier League next season.

If the Baggies draw, a win for Brentford would see the Bees overtake them, while Fulham can still pull level on points with a win, but have a considerably inferior goal difference.

In other West Brom news, Noel Whelan has savaged a Baggies “cheat” who started v Huddersfield.

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