The former Newcastle boss is believed to have held talks with the Baggies' board at tea-time, with discussions continuing into the evening. A hitch brought a halt to Wednesday's negotiations, but all parties are hopeful of ironing out any problems on Thursday. The Birmingham Mail reports that Albion caretaker boss Michael Appleton might still take charge of Saturday's game against West Ham, with Hughton likely to watch from the stands. It has not yet been established who will form part of Hughton's coaching staff, if he does take over Most recently he worked with a coaching team of current Hibs boss Colin Calderwood and ex-Albion goalkeeper Paul Barron. Hughton's final game as Newcastle manager was ironically a 3-1 defeat at The Hawthorns in December. He took over at St James' Park in October 2009 and led the Magpies to the Championship title, ahead of second-placed Albion, winning the Championship Manager of the Year award. Hughton were 11th in the Premier League table when he was sacked by owner Mike Ashley and replaced by Alan Pardew.
