Matej Vydra rescues point for West Brom - Hull match analysis

At the very least, they would surely be tempted to add an extra zero to their salary demands after watching the Baggies labour their way to a pre-Christmas point.

On one hand, a share of the spoils against Hull in Keith Downing's first game in caretaker charge stopped the rot for the side, who looked to be on course for a morale-crushing fifth successive defeat until Matej Vydra popped up four minutes from full-time to rescue a draw.

• See more pictures from the Baggies' draw with Hull here

But the super Vydra finish which at least muted the full-time boos around The Hawthorns could not disguise another disjointed, nervy display that laid bare the challenge that will face Steve Clarke's long-term successor when chairman Peace and his fellow Baggies directors finally land their man.

Barring a couple of shock successes over Christmas, the new Albion gaffer will walk into a dressing room drained of belief and lacking clear direction after a catalogue of missed opportunities sapped the confidence that seemed to be on the rise just a month or two ago.

It was a problem identified clearly by Clarke in the weeks before his dismissal as a series of misses, injustices and careless giveaways against a backdrop of pleasing performances gave way to some timid, brittle displays that ultimately cost the Scot his job.

It is a issue that will now face the man entrusted with turning around a steady slide towards a relegation battle.

And it is a riddle that even the clear popularity and boundless enthusiasm of caretaker chief Keith Downing could not solve on Saturday as another sub-25,000 crowd at The Hawthorns was forced to endure a grim scrap.

Albion, to their credit, at least summoned the reserves of resilience and spirit to push hard in the second half and rescue the point that their endeavours in the face of adversity deserved.

Yet once more the full-blooded Albion only emerged when the game was almost up and Downing's men had nothing to lose.

When the pressure was on in the first half to make the running and take by the scruff of the neck a game they knew they must try to win to reverse the recent trend of setbacks, they again seemed paralysed by nerves and unable to turn their obvious desire for success into a coherent performance.

Downing's first selection as stand-in boss caused some consternation even before a ball was kicked on Saturday, with the decision to leave young tyro Saido Berahino on the substitutes' bench once more upsetting fans who wanted to see the Baggies going for broke.

The decision to introduce the home-grown forward at half-time in place of the desperately disappointing Scott Sinclair was taken as a tacit admission that the omission had been a mistake.

Yet the idea that a 4-4-2 system or some tinkering with personnel would have reinvigorated a team worn down by several months of mental blows seemed a fanciful notion as players who stood tall in the club's rise to eighth place last season and 11th and 10th in the previous campaigns struggled to complete basic passes.

As a piece of sporting entertainment, the first half was as shocking a spectacle as Albion fans have witnessed in several seasons.

And at the heart of the footballing dirge was an Albion performance that smacked of a team in mental turmoil and in desperate need of a new voice and fresh direction from the top as soon as possible.

The less said about the opening 28 minutes, the better, with a header well off target from Hull's James Chester from a corner and a brave claim by Tigers keeper Allan McGregor ahead of Baggies striker Shane Long the only incidents that stuck in the mind.

And it was the visitors who took the head on 28 minutes when they broke from a Baggies corner after referee Jonathan Moss waved away half-hearted calls for a foul for a shove by Tom Huddlestone on James Morrison.

Hull cleared their lines and caught the Baggies at sixes and sevens at the back as Danny Graham chased the ball down, Jake Livermore burst fully 70 yards with purpose and found himself and his team-mate in a two-on-two showdown with Billy Jones and Chris Brunt. The Baggies pair had no answer as Graham squared and Livermore finished.

And it might have been 2-0 before the interval when David Meyler's shot hit Gareth McAuley and dropped narrowly wide after a neat Hull move.

Albion's improvement was obvious from the start of the second half and they threatened three times in the early stages.

Berahino delivered a snap-shot on target and McGregor palmed it away unconvincingly.

Then Youssouf Mulumbu's drive from 20 yards took a deflection off Curtis Davies and flew behind.

And when Long cut in from the right flank, after a Baggies counter-attack, the crowd held its breath in anticipation before he sent a left-footed shot spinning disappointingly high and wide.

McAuley headed tamely at McGregor from a Brunt corner as Albion continued applying the pressure, but it took a superb double-save from the recalled Ben Foster to keep his side in the game as he blocked a deflected Huddlestone shot and then stopped Ahmed Elmohamady's follow-up. And that moment looked pivotal when Mulumbu and Long combined to set up one last chance on 86 minutes in front of an expectant crowd.

Substitute Zoltan Gera, back to add some much-needed class, produced a fabulous pass and Vydra finished with wonderful composure for his first Baggies goal.

Vydra's strike raised hopes that the Baggies could somehow rescue an unlikely victory from a game that looked for a long time to end in another huge setback.

When the final whistle confirmed a draw, the Hawthorns crowd seemed unsure precisely how they should respond.

There were some boos of disapproval for another generally worrying display, some applause of recognition for a commendable battling effort after half-time, and some sighs of relief that their side had finally left behind the 15-point mark on which they appeared to be interminably stranded.

But there was an overwhelming sense of a team in need of new direction, fresh ideas and an injection of belief as soon as Peace and Co can sensibly deliver it.

Some huge games lie ahead and a new boss is needed without delay.

They can only hope that the man they have in mind didn't watch on Saturday and decide the task is a little too big for comfort.

Steve Madeley