Barton taunts West Brom after giveaway

The controversial Hoops captain said he predicted the Baggies' collapse when they led 2-0 after 20 minutes and hinted Alan Irvine's men had panicked after their excellent start.

The Baggies have thrown away 10 points from winning positions already this season after making a habit of squandering leads last term.

And Barton said: "West Brom went 2-0 up and I turned to Dunney (Richard Dunne) and said, 'they've scored too early.'

"We couldn't play any worse than we had in the first 20 minutes.

"I said 'they don't know how to win games and – excuse the language – they'll s*** themselves'. They don't know how to get over the finishing line.'

"If you're sitting in the West Brom dressing room (at half-time), you're thinking you were 2-0 up and you've been pegged back."

Irvine, who is facing fresh pressure to save his job after the weekend giveaway, is still looking to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.

But the Scot knows his current players must regroup quickly for the Boxing Day home game against Manchester City.

Irvine said: "We will accentuate the positives from that game, of which there were a lot, and we will tidy up on things we didn't do so well.

"We will be looking to see if there are things that can be done in January but I wouldn't think we'll be doing a lot.

"We feel as if we've got a couple of 'new' players in Brown Ideye and Silvestre Varela.

"The reality is we have got a squad which was put together in the summer, and a squad that I am happy to work with."