Pressure on West Brom's Alan Pardew – just 84 days in

The Baggies boss was appointed as Tony Pulis’s successor 84 days ago on Wednesday, November 29.

Although returning chief executive Mark Jenkins is not hoping for any more upheaval following a disruptive week, this weekend’s home match with Huddersfield has taken on added significance.

If Pardew falls to his fifth straight defeat, and Albion lose further ground on the teams above them, he could be in line for the chop following a controversial trip to Spain.

That worst-case scenario could shoot the current Baggies boss into the top five shortest managerial reigns of the Premier League.

Les Reed’s 40-day stint at Charlton Athletic in 2006 is by far the shortest stint in terms of days, although he still oversaw more games (eight) than Frank De Boer’s hapless start to this season with Crystal Palace.

De Boer was only in charge for five games, but he still spent 77 days in the Palace hot-seat, longer than Rene Meulensteen spent at Fulham in 2013/14.

Swansea’s American experiment with Bob Bradley lasted just 84 days last season and completing the bottom five is Terry Connor of Albion’s Black Country rivals Wolves.

Connor was put in charge after Mick McCarthy was sacked following Albion’s famous 5-1 derby win at Molineux, but even though he saw out the season, he failed to win any of his 13 games.

But should things go south this weekend, there is a possibility that Pardew will knock Connor out of the bottom five. On the face of it, Pardew’s record of one league win from 13 is on par with many of those managers.

But what’s remarkable is just how quickly his reign has unravelled.

Just over three weeks ago there was an air of positivity about the Baggies.

Three wins and a draw from four games in January began to convince supporters that Pardew’s methods were starting to bear fruit. But rather than being a turning point, Albion’s FA Cup win over Liverpool at Anfield now looks like it was a false dawn.

Since then, they have lost two games at home to Southampton as well as difficult fixtures away at Chelsea and Manchester City.

On their own, that is hardly a sackable run of results, but coupled with the controversies from Barcelona and the slow start to his tenure, it has put the head coach under increasing pressure.

There is still hope he can turn it around, and with six inviting fixtures coming up, it’s worth remembering Albion have dominated plenty of games against those around them since his arrival without managing to win many.

But Pardew has now won just seven of his last 49 Premier League matches, and that ratio will not be good enough to keep Albion up this season.

Shortest manager reigns in the Premier League

Terry Connor

Wolves - Days: 91

After Mick McCarthy was sacked in February 2012 following their 5-1 thrashing by the Baggies, his assistant Connor was given the job. He failed to win any of his 13 games in charge and took Wolves down.

Bob Bradley

Swansea City - Days: 84

The American was a disaster at Swansea last season, and conceded 29 goals in 11 games. An experiment by the Welsh side’s Yank owners, it was quickly shelved in favour of Paul Clement.

Frank de Boer

Crystal Palace - Days: 77

De Boer’s methods weren’t going down well before this season started and he only lasted five league games before the Palace owners gave him the bullet and sent for Roy Hodgson.

Rene Meulensteen

Fulham - Days: 75

The former Manchester United coach took over in 2013 when Martin Jol was fired, but after winning four from 17, he was replaced.

Les Reed

Charlton - Days: 40

Never managed before this stint in 2006, and hasn’t managed since. The man who replaced him? Alan Pardew...

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