But he did hint that if Irvine wanted to leave, he would be allowed to do so if compensation was agreed.

“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,” said Shaw.

“If any calls came in then the decision would be down to the manager, if the terms of his contract were met, but this is something we would vehemently oppose.’’

Albion would have to agree compensation with both Preston and Cardiff to be given permission to speak to their managers but are armed with the £2 million compensation they received from Celtic for Mowbray and his backroom team of Mark Venus and Peter Grant.

Another early favourite, Peterborough United’s Darren Ferguson, also appears to have slipped down the pecking order as Posh are believed to want £1.5 million in compensation and Albion consider that too much for a manager with great potential but limited experience.