West Bromwich Albion have sacked head coach Steve Clarke after 18 months in charge at The Hawthorns. Former Chelsea right back Clarke, 50, saw the Baggies slump to a fourth successive Premier League defeat against Cardiff City on Saturday, leaving them two points and as many places above the drop. Albion have only won seven of the 34 league matches they have played in the calendar year of 2013. The West Midlands outfit lost top scorer Romelu Lukaku in the summer when his loan spell from Chelsea came to an end and he was sent out to Everton instead. Clarke had spells as assistant at Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool before stepping up at West Brom into his first full-time management role. He won less than a third of his 59 games in charge. A Baggies club statement confirmed Clarke had been placed on gardening leaving along with number two Kevin Keen. Keith Downing is now in caretaker charge of the first team until a new boss is appointed. Ex-Albion chief Roberto Di Matteo is the early bookmakers' favourite to return to the The Hawthorns for a second stint. He leads the market from Dutch coach Martin Jol recently sacked by Fulham and Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.