Alan Pardew urges his team to prove the world wrong after West Brom are written off
Alan Pardew hopes a burning desire to prove the doubters wrong can spark an unlikely charge up the table for the basement Baggies.
Albion are eight points from safety after five straight defeats in the league and have been written off by most with a quarter of the season to go.
But Pardew has told his squad to feed on that ‘us vs the world’ mentality to build the sort of team spirit needed to pull off the greatest of escapes.
“I’d like to think it can help us because that inner resolve to prove people wrong is a great driver and I know it drives me,” he said.
“If it doesn’t drive the players then really and truly they shouldn’t be sports people.
“Looking at them they look as if they want to prove a few people wrong. But we need a win the game.”
Pardew dismissed the notion that Albion’s players didn’t care and argued that last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Watford had boosted morale because of an improved performance.
“Of course, it would be stupid to say that the players have not got a reaction to some of the hurt they’ve suffered,” he said. “Some of it is self-inflicted, as we know, which we won’t go over.
“There was a much improved performance at Watford and we have got to take that into our home games because that’s where our destiny probably lies.”
The Baggies boss admitted he and the players were lucky to have received so little abuse from the stands, and urged the Albion fans to continue supporting the team.
“Every time I enter that stadium it’s a positive environment,” he said. “In some ways myself and the players have been fortunate because our fans have been very tolerant and when you look at our record over the last 12 months they don’t need to be.
“They come and support the team and give us their backing and that’s the platform for us to try to deliver something.
“Hopefully when we have a bad patch this weekend we don’t get a negative feel coming from the stadium.
“Hopefully our fans will be patient with us. I’m sure we’ll make mistakes in our passing and stuff but if they see us through that period hopefully we will give them a reward.”
Albion host Leicester City at The Hawthorns this weekend.
Jonny Evans is a major doubt with illness and 20-year-old winger Oliver Burke is in line for just his second league start of the season as Alan Pardew searches for a solution to his problems.
