Preston chairman Derek Shaw has warned West Brom off making an approach for manager Alan Irvine.
The Baggies are currently in the midst of searching for a new manager after Tony Mowbray left for Celtic last week with Irvine strongly tipped to take over at The Hawthorns.
The turnaround in fortunes at North End since the former Everton assistant manager took charge has been dramatic. Irvine managed to steer the club away from the relegation zone in his first season before guiding them to a play-off place in 2008/9.
Despite narrowly losing to Sheffield United in the play-off semi-final Irvine has seen his stock rise at Deepdale and Shaw is hopeful he will remain at the helm.
"I want to assure supporters that as I give this interview, first thing on Friday morning, we have not had any contact from West Bromwich Albion over the services of Alan Irvine and we do not want any," he told the club's official website.
"If any calls came in then the decision would be down to the manager himself, if the terms of his contract were met, but this is something we would vehemently oppose.
"The last thing in the world PNE need at this time is to be searching for anther manager, it would be a disaster for us.
"Alan has progressed the club over the past 18 months and we want that progression to continue."
Source: SKY_Sports
