Express & Star

Slaven Bilic recruits West Brom assistants Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic

Slaven Bilic has recruited two assistants to work alongside him at The Hawthorns following his appointment as head coach last week.

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Slaven Bilic

Fellow Croats Dean Računica, 49, and Danilo Butorović, 34, have both been added to the backroom staff of the former West Ham boss.

Both men are long-term associates of the 50-year-old and were also members of his coaching team at Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

They will start work with Bilic next Monday, June 24, when the players return for pre-season.

Former caretaker boss Jimmy Shan remains at the club as first team coach, and Bilic is not expected to make any more additions to his backroom staff.

Goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh and fitness coach Nick Davies also remain.

Next season will be the first taste of English football for both Racunica and Butorovic.

Racunica worked closely with Bilic when Albion's head coach was in charge of Croatia due to his assistant head coach role at Hajduk Split.

The 49-year-old, who won two caps for Croatia, has been a manager in his own right on two occasions, but has spent most of his career as an assistant.

He was assistant to Aljosa Asanovic at Australian club Melbourne Knights before joining Bilic's staff at Al-Ittihad last year.

Butorovic was described by Albion as "one of the up-and-coming coaching talents of Croatian football."

The 34-year-old holds a Uefa Pro license and is fluent in English and Italian.

His emergence in Croatia came when he took regional club NK Orijent1919 from the bottom of the fourth tier to the top of the second tier in three seasons.

He left Orijent last year to become Bilic's assistant at Al-Ittihad but has known Bilic for five years, having been invited to visit him at West Ham.

A club statement said: "His expertise in technology and analysis will see him focusing particularly on pre-match preparation, recruitment and training preparations and assessment."

Bilic is not expected to add any more members to his backroom staff at this stage, and Shan remains employed as first team coach.

The former caretaker, who steadied the ship after Darren Moore's sacking in March, admitted being in charge had given him a taste for management and will likely have outside offers.

However, he is expected to sit down and speak with Bilic next week.