Tony Pulis fears West Brom confidence crisis
Tony Pulis admits he is concerned that confidence is being sapped from his Albion players.
The under-fire Baggies boss will return from the international break fighting for his job in tough fixtures against Chelsea and Tottenham.
But he is worried that a 10-game winless streak in all competitions is starting to take its toll on his players, leaving the squad jaded and low.
The mood in the dressing room after the 1-0 defeat to a 10-man Huddersfield team was flat ahead of the group dispersing for the international break.
Pulis is eager to rebuild confidence over the next two weeks, but will have to do it without many of his first-team players who are away on international duty.
Four Albion players are taking part in important World Cup qualifiers, Jake Livermore has been recalled to the England squad for the games against Germany and Brazil, and five more are involved in friendlies too. “The concern is obviously the confidence with the players and everything else,” said Pulis. “The biggest worry is the players. I’ve been a manager for a long, long time. Confidence is the major factor with the team and with the players. If I see a drop off with the players then that would be a concern.”
Pulis expects such a poor run to impact the mentality of his players, but refused to criticise the effort that his team put in. “They’ve worked really hard again,” he said. “I don’t think anybody can say that people were hanging around or standing about, they’ve had a right go.”
And he waved away the suggestion that the players didn’t care saying “they are desperately disappointed.”
Albion fans made their feelings felt at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday with chants calling for Pulis’s head but the protests have continued into the week.
On Monday, one supporter in his late 60s stood outside The Hawthorns for a couple of hours with a placard reading ‘WBA Pulis to go now’.
