West Ham United have told Chelsea that they will have to take out a legal injunction to prevent Steve Clarke becoming their new assistant manager after receiving the ultimate reference from José Mourinho. In the wake of this hedonistic defeat, Gianfranco Zola will know the priorities on his first day in charge at Upton Park will be split between addressing the team’s traditional defensive frailties and bringing in the coach ideally suited to resolve them.

The West Ham board sounded out Mourinho for his views on Clarke’s capabilities as the club prepared for a compensation battle and the former Chelsea manager, who is in charge of Inter Milan, recommended his one-time assistant first-team coach as a special one worth pursuing.

Chelsea’s chagrin will not be lessened by the news that West Ham, from whom they have demanded nearly £5 million in compensation for Clarke’s services, are willing to bring in legal assistance to secure Zola’s preferred choice of assistant.

West Ham are willing to pay up to £1 million to compensate Chelsea for the Scot, who tendered his resigned on Thursday with two years on his £600,000-a-year contract remaining, and deem any accusation of “tapping up” as bizarre.

Expert View

Referees, managers and players have a duty to the game. It is riddled with enough cheating as it is

Tony Cascarino

• More

• Post a comment

Related Links

• Can this nice guy finish first?

• Mowbray warns against breaching rules

• Clarke severs long link with Chelsea

In his capacity as caretaker manager, Kevin Keen, who would work alongside Clarke, can barely be blamed for the defeat at The Hawthorns on Saturday, with Zola watching from the stands before visiting the players in the dressing-room. West Bromwich Albion deserved their first league victory of the season as both teams attacked with abandon. It was marvellous stuff.

Even in stoppage time, with West Brom set to climb off the foot of the table, Paul Robinson, the left back, went foraging forward, popping up in the attacking hole and then slaloming into the penalty area in search of a fourth goal. “We’ve had that conversation,” Tony Mowbray, the Albion manager, said, uncertain whether to smile or groan. “I don’t encourage it. There’s always a balance to be struck. Paul Robinson should be heading toward the corner flag. But I suppose that’s the way we train.”

In front of the watching Ray Clemence, still a member of the England backroom team, both goalkeepers were given ample opportunity to show their mettle. Robert Green, of West Ham, who is back in the England squad, was beaten when James Morrison nipped in front of Matthew Upson to head in a cross from Borja Valero and flapped as Roman Bednar nodded wide. After Mark Noble equalised when David Di Michele headed down a cross from Calum Davenport and Lucas Neill volleyed in from Upson’s header, Green pulled down Leon Barnett and Bednar converted the penalty.

That West Brom trebled their season’s goal tally in one half will not surprise those who saw them score more than 100 goals in each of Mowbray’s two previous campaigns in charge. Playing with Jonathan Greening as an attacking conduit, they moved the ball about delightfully. But they defended less securely and were indebted to Scott Carson for a fine display that suggested that he is over last November’s Wembley nightmare against Croatia.

The cavalier nature of this match was encapsulated by West Brom’s winner, with West Ham left short at the back from an attacking corner. Robinson, released down the left wing by Robert Koren, played over the cross from which Chris Brunt scored his first league goal.

West Brom ratings (4-4-1-1)

S Carson 8 C Hoefkens 7 L Barnett 5 J Olsson 5 P Robinson 6 J Morrison 7 B Valero 7 R Koren 6 C Brunt 6 J Greening 7 R Bednar 7 Substitutes L Moore 5 (for Valero, 64min), Kim Do Heon 5 (for Morrison, 65), M Cech (for Bednar, 86). Not used D Kiely, C Beattie, S MacDonald, R Donk.

West Ham ratings (4-4-2)

R Green 5 L Neill 5 C Davenport 4 M Upson 4 H Ilunga 5 V Behrami 5 S Parker 5 M Noble 7 L Boa Morte 5 C Cole 7 D Ashton 5 Substitutes D Di Michele 5 (for Ashton, 19min), J Faubert 6 (for Behrami, 65), M Etherington (for Boa Morte, 79). Not used J Lastuvka, H Mullins, C Bellamy, J Tomkins.

Referee L Probert Attendance 26,213