Peace joy at Di Matteo choice

Published: 01 Jul 2009 - 07:15:00

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West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace was delighted to seal the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as the club`s new head coach. The 39-year-old signed a 12-month rolling contract to lead the the Baggies, who were relegated from the Premier League last season and have been searching for a new manager since Tony Mowbray left for Celtic earlier this month. Di Matteo arrives with just one year's coaching experience under his belt after being appointed MK Dons manager last summer. He enjoyed a successful season in charge of the League One club as they missed a second consecutive automatic promotion by just two points before losing to Scunthorpe in the play-offs. But despite the Italian's inexperience, Peace insists the board needed little convincing to appoint him to lead the club's quest for an immediate return to the top flight. "I am delighted with Roberto's appointment, which concludes an intensive selection process during which over 40 names were considered," Peace said in a statement last night. "We short-listed two outstanding candidates, spoke to both of them after receiving permission from their clubs, and ultimately Roberto was the unanimous choice of the board."