Albion boss Dean Wilkins has agreed to sign a new three year-contract.

The deal replaces Wilkins' existing agreement, which expires in June, and follows lengthy negotiations with chairman Dick Knight.

The unfortunate timing of the announcement by the club comes on the back of four straight defeats since the offer was made to Wilkins last month, although Albion are on the cusp of making League One safety a mathematical certainty with two games to go.

Knight, speaking from his home in Spain said. "I recommended we give Dean this contract, the Board agreed and I made the offer to him in the middle of March, so we are not going to go back on it. I'm a man of my word.

"The contract period is to take the pressure off Dean so that he can get on with the work of developing the team.

"It has made it slightly more difficult because, between the time when I made the offer to him and now, results haven't exactly gone our way.

"We've had some bad luck and some of the young players are growing up fast. These sort of things are bound to happen when you are in a period of transition and I just want to clear the decks and get on with preparing for next season.

"The last few weeks have been difficult for Dean but we should now move on.

"He is his own man and Albion through and through.

"This contract gives both Dean and the club some stability and he and I will now begin planning for squad strengthening to mount a serious challenge to get back to the Championship."

Wilkins said: "I am extremely proud to be given the responsibility to make the necessary changes to help move our club onwards and upwards.

"During this period of transition my passion and desire to make our club successful remains as strong as ever."

Wilkins and Knight are now poised to resolve the futures of the 15 players out of contract at the end of the season.

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