Express & Star

Alan Pardew: I lost the players at West Brom

Former boss Alan Pardew has admitted to “losing the players” during his disastrous four-month reign at Albion.

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Alan Pardew had a nightmare time at West Brom.

Speaking for the first time since his exit a year ago, the 57-year-old blamed his failure at The Hawthorns on trying to change too much about the Baggies style of play.

Albion had a reputation for playing defensive football under Tony Pulis, while Pardew wanted to play on the front foot.

But his tenure delivered just one win in 18 Premier League matches which ultimately sealed the club’s exit from the top flight.

Pardew told The Telegraph: “We were neither one thing nor the other and that’s when I realised that I can’t get them playing the way I wanted to play and get the results.

“Then it wasn’t fair on West Brom and wasn’t fair on me. You have to be honest and accept that it didn’t work out.

“Sometimes you can lose the squad and I have to accept that happened.”

Pardew, who had replaced Pulis in November 2017, saw his reign overshadowed by off-field controversies.

They including the infamous Taxi-gate, when Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill were accused of stealing a taxi during a mid-season training camp in Barcelona.

He believes that incident ultimately proved fatal to his chances of turning things around.

He explained: “We beat Brighton and Liverpool (in the Cup). Then I thought: ‘Ok, I think we are going to get there’.

“But the incident in Barcelona and the results that followed pushed us back into a compromise.

“What were we then? Some of the group wanted to go back [in style] and once you do that in football you are in trouble.”