After their promotion ambitions were finally extinguished following a rocky season, West Brom's attentions must now return to their most pressing matter - finding a new manager.

On Tuesday night they were narrowly edged out of a place at Wembley by local rivals Aston Villa who won a penalty shoot-out to book their place in the Championship play-off final.

Jimmy Shan, who took over the reigns following Darren Moore's sacking earlier in the campaign, did all he could.

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His side were motivated and organised but lacked a crucial cutting edge - which was no real surprise given Dwight Gayle's suspension from the previous leg.

He has done a decent job at steadying the ship at the Hawthorns, but it is clear that the ambitions of the club's board lie higher.

The next appointment you feel is absolutely crucial. There was plenty of backlash after Moore was sacked with hopes of automatic promotion slipping away, so if the next man in the dugout is not someone the fans will get behind, it could be a problem.

One name who has recently been linked with the vacant position, by BBC Sport, is Lincoln City's heroic boss Danny Cowley, who has taken the Imps from non-league to League One.

They ran away with the title in League Two this season and is a name that continues to gather more and more clout with each season that passes.

However, he is the exact type of manager that West Brom should be steering well clear of.

Towards the end of Tony Pulis' stint in the Hawthorns dugout anger began to cascade down from the stands towards the Welshman's archaic brand of direct, physical football.

The fans simply did not enjoy watching their club.

Here in lies the problem. Whilst Cowley has had a lot of success with Lincoln, he has achieved it by playing a physical and rather direct game.

His side was spearheaded this season by the giant John Akinde with a host of pacy, hardworking players around him.

Whilst the predominant desire for West Brom remains to return to the Premier League at all costs, it would be foolish to do try to do it with a manager whose style of play is not what the fans want to see.