West Brom are set to appoint former Stoke and Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis as their new manager on Thursday.
Pulis is believed to have agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract and will have full control of transfers, despite accepting to work within the current set up, which has former Wimbledon boss Terry Burton as technical director and Richard Garlick as the director of football administration.
Pulis will be Albion's fourth head coach in just over 12 months since Steve Clarke was sacked in December 2013.
His first game will be Saturday's FA Cup third round tie with Gateshead at The Hawthorns.
Pulis has never been relegated as a manager and helped Crystal Palace to 11th in the top flight last season after taking over in November 2013.
He was named Barclays Premier League Manager of the Year for his work at Selhurst Park but left the Eagles in August.
The Baggies had vowed to move quickly after sacking Irvine on Monday and assistant head coach Rob Kelly was placed in temporary charge.
Kelly will be in charge for Thursday's trip to West Ham with the Baggies 16th, a point above the relegation zone.
Pulis was chosen ahead of former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, who had also held detailed talks with the Baggies in the wake of the sacking of Alan Irvine on Monday.
Sherwood had been previously interviewed for The Hawthorns hotseat in the summer before the Baggies appointed Irvine in June.
The Scot lasted just six months after four wins in 19 Premier League games.
Sherwood has been out of work since leaving White Hart Lane at the end of last season after just five months in charge of Spurs.
West Brom have lost seven of their last nine games but Kelly has backed them to survive ahead of their clash at Upton Park.
"Yes, absolutely," he said, when asked if the Baggies could beat the drop. "I work with them every day. I see them, I see the qualities they've got. They're good players.
"I have good staff here, that Alan put together. A good group of players. It's not me picking the team, me taking training, it's a group effort - it's all of us. I won't look too far ahead.
"Collectively we will move it forward. We will be organised, committed, competitive. We will do our best to get a result."
