West Brom head coach Alan Pardew will seek clarification over his future after a sapping 4-1 loss at home to Leicester City pushed his seemingly doomed side closer to relegation.
Albion drew first blood at The Hawthorns, but Jamie Vardy volleyed a superb equaliser to level matters midway though the first half.
Leicester ran amok afterwards, with Riyad Mahrez, substitute Kelechi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra on target as the Premier League s bottom club meekly subsided during the final half hour.
Before you even ask me the question, will I speak to those upstairs? Yes I will. Of course I will because it s getting difficult, Pardew told reporters, with his team eight points from safety with eight games left.
My pride on the sidelines is such that I don t want to stand and watch that last 15, 20 minutes. My teams are better than that and I want my team here to be better than that.
So I m going to make sure – and I told the players afterwards that that was unacceptable, that last period of the game.
I said to the players they have got to fight to the end and I m criticising them for the last 20 minutes because they weren t fighting.
They ve got to fight to the end. I don t care whatever job or workplace you re in, if you re under pressure and you don t want to fight, don t bother turning up.
I will see them [the board] when I ve had a good night s sleep and a glass of wine.
Full time
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA)
Grzegorz Krychowiak reacted angrily when he was substituted at 1-1 and Pardew had little time for the on-loan Paris Saint-Germain midfielder s behaviour.
I do have a problem with it because I ve supported him and played him and stuck by him when he s not been particularly great, he added.
And to come off and not shake my hand. I made it very clear to him on the bench I m not accepting that, I think it s wrong.
He s a player on loan who should show respect. I m not going to make a big deal about it. I made it clear to him and I don t expect to see it again.
Leicester manager Claude Puel praised his players for taking control of a lively encounter during the second period.
5 Riyad Mahrez has provided five assists for Jamie Vardy goals this season in the Premier League; the same number as he did in their 2015-16 title-winning campaign and three more than in 2016-17. Service.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
I thought the first half was too open though. It was end-to-end and box-to-box. We could have finished the first half 3-3, it was crazy, he said, with his team eighth in the table on 40 points.
It was important to come back in the second half with more management in our game and more quality. It was interesting to keep the ball on the floor more to work them a little more.
We found our clinical edge with fantastic goals and good moves
00000177
this is a good reward for the team.
The substitutes were great – Iheanacho, [Marc] Albrighton and [Fousseni] Diabate. For us it gives us good momentum and it is important for us to keep this good feeling.
