Eric Ramsay: No 'shrinking violets' but West Brom must show personality in response to drubbing
New boss Eric Ramsay called on Albion to show personality in the wake of Tuesday's humiliating drubbing - and vowed he will not let the squad fracture.
The Baggies fell to an historic and disastrous 5-0 Hawthorns hammering in just Ramsay's second game at the helm to make it successive home defeats from his first two games.
It leaves Albion 19th and in the thick of a worrying relegation dogfight with an ominous trip to Derby on Friday night and another six-pointer at lowly rivals Portsmouth on Saturday week.
The manner of Tuesday's capitulation led to fans once again questioning whether the squad has the stomach to fight, something Ramsay does not doubt - but he ordered it is a time to show personality and character to respond.
"No - I don't look at that group of men in the dressing room and think there are shrinking violets in there," Ramsay said.
"We have to make sure that as a group we recognise where we are, accept where we are, and start to work through it.
"We have to make sure we show personality, show character, to make sure we don't start to fracture as a group because ultimately once that starts to happen there is only one outcome and I will not let that happen, and the group won't."
Albion have now lost eight from 10 in the Championship and just three points separate them and the dotted line, with rivals boasting games in hand.
The trip to Derby's Pride Park, where the Baggies have a measly record, sees the visitors look to buck the trend of 10 straight away league defeats.
"In spite of the Middlesbrough result we generally felt pretty positive from it," Ramsay said when asked of his belief after two games.
"Tuesday of course is difficult to take an ounce of positivity from, but I knew what I was walking into, I knew it was going to be a real challenge, and it's one that I will tackle head-on with everything I've got in a way that I would expect the staff and players to."
Ramsay told the Express & Star in the wake of Tuesday's collapse he was hopeful of late transfer window squad bolstering this month, but it is believed any arrivals - highly likely to be loans - will require patience to be finalised.
