AS Sammy Lee prepares to make the first key addition to his backroom team, it appears Sam Allardyce is still casting a large shadow over the Reebok.

The new Wanderers boss is set to confirm one of the worst-kept secrets in football by announcing that he has head-hunted Frank McParland, currently the joint chief scout at Liverpool, to fill the newly-created role of general manager at the Reebok.

Lee has raided his former club for the 58-year-old, whose meteoric rise from part-time academy coach to talent-spotting expert was recognised by successive Anfield managers, Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez.

Lee has made it clear he does not want an assistant manager but instead wants a man to deal with off-field matters, leaving him free to spend the majority of his time with his players.

News of the apppointment, which is expected to be made official in the next few days, coincides with increasing speculation that Allardyce is ready to unveil Mark Taylor, his head of sports science and medicine for more than six years at the Reebok, as the man he has chosen for a similar role at Newcastle.

And it is now looking more likely than ever that performance director Mike Forde, whose expertise in sports psychology made him a highly-valued member of Allardyce's backroom team, will follow him to Tyneside, although that move could be held up by Wanderers' compensation demands.

And that might not be the end of the asset stripping.

A fortnight after his appointment as Magpies' boss, Allardyce is being strongly tipped to win the race for Tal Ben Haim, who is out of contract at the end of June. And, despite a last-ditch attempt by chairman Phil Gartside to persuade him to stay, he has shown no inclination to sign a new deal.

Reports also suggest Allardyce has beaten Lee to the signature of Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng.

The much-travelled 24-year-old, who plays for Ghana alongside Chelsea's Michael Essien, had an outstanding season with Israeli club, Beitar Jerusalem, and was rumoured to be high on Wanderers' wanted list.

Despite losing two prominent members of his backroom staff, Lee is known to be delighted to have recruited McParland, a man he knows well from his Anfield days.

The former BT business manager, who impressed with his work with the Liverpool academy, has been instrumental in helping restructure the Reds' entire scouting network and been influential in attracting some highly-rated young British-based players to Merseyside.