West Bromwich Albion Dismiss Head Coach Steve Clarke

West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke was fired by the club on Saturday evening after their 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City just hours prior. 

West Brom announced the decision on their website with an official statement.

BBC Sport pulled a quote from the statement that encapsulated the reasoning behind West Brom's decision:

The Baggies' loss on the road at Cardiff was the club's fourth consecutive defeat. After winning just one of their last 10 results, the pressure reached a boiling point and forced a switch from the club's brass.

Per the statement, assistant manager Kevin Keen has also been relieved. An immediate replacement has not been named at this time.

In his first season at the helm, West Brom finished in a respectable eighth place in the 2012-13 final table. But after a woeful start this season, the club found themselves in 16th place and on the cusp of relegation at the time of the firing.

The 50-year-old enjoyed successful stints as assistant manager at Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool before landing the West Brom job in June 2012. It was his first head managerial position. 

West Brom is far from the only marquee Premier League job to open up in the last calendar year. English giants Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all saw a change at the top over the last offseason, among others.

Clarke is best known for his illustrious career as a Chelsea defender, where he appeared in 330 games from 1987 to 1998 before rejoining the club as an assistant manager six years later.