the season in style with a dramatic 5–5 draw with Manchester United, in what was Sir Alex Ferguson's final match as manager. The draw saw West Brom finish 8th in the table, their best finish since 1981. 2013–14 season Clarke and West Brom returned for the new season with a 1–0 home loss to Southampton at The Hawthorns following a 90th-minute Rickie Lambert penalty. The team initially struggled to score goals, eventually recording their first league goal the fourth game of the new season when Gareth McAuley scored an injury time header in a 1–1 result against Fulham. 28 September 2013 saw them secure an historic 2–1 victory against league champions, Manchester United, their first win at Old Trafford in 35 years. Under his managership, however, they won only one further game, a 2–0 home defeat of Crystal Palace on 2 November 2013. On 9 November, West Brom were minutes away from securing a historic win at Stamford Bridge that would have ended José Mourinho's undefeated home record, but a controversial penalty decision ensured that the game ended 2–2. A further draw and four straight defeats followed and on 14 December 2013 Clarke was placed on gardening leave until May 2014, after a 1–0 loss at Cardiff City. This defeat had left the club two points above the relegation zone in 16th place. They had won 9 of the previous 41 Premier League matches. Reading On 16 December 2014, Clarke was appointed manager of Reading on a two-and-a-half-year deal, succeeding Nigel Adkins. On 16 March 2015, Clarke managed Reading to a 3–0 win against Bradford City in the FA Cup to reach their first semi-final for 88 years. In November 2015, Clarke was approached by Fulham to become their manager. Reading gave Clarke permission to speak to Fulham, but following the discussion he decided against taking the position. Clarke was sacked by Reading on 4 December 2015 after one year in charge. Aston Villa Clarke was hired by Aston Villa on 2 June 2016 to be their assistant manager, working alongside former Chelsea teammate Roberto Di Matteo. He was not retained following the appointment of Steve Bruce in October 2016. Kilmarnock After a year out of football, Clarke was appointed manager of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock, the club he had supported as a child, on 14 October 2017. When he took over, the club sat bottom of the league table.