Former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Ronnie Wallwork has been told he faces jail after admitting handling stolen cars. The ex-Baggies player of the year, aged 33, was arrested at Manchester airport in a police operation to tackle serious and organised crime. Wallwork pleaded guilty to three counts of handling stole goods at Preston Crown Court. The former Manchester United player, of Failsworth, Greater Manchester, was bailed ahead of his sentencing later this year. Wallwork has always been a controversial figure. He was once banned from football for life for attacking a referee during a loan spell at Belgian outift Royal Antwerp from United. The ban was later reduced to a one-year ban from Belgian football. He also required life-saving surgery in 2006 after being repeatedly stabbed with a fish knife by a man who saw Wallwork with an ex-girlfriend in a Manchester bar.