Comment: Time has run out for West Brom to take another punt

The game against Watford was do or die for Albion’s manager, but even though he lost, he managed to cling onto this job.

Pardew’s results speak for themselves, and he deserves to be under pressure after picking up eight points from a possible 45, as do the men who appointed him.

He may have been unlucky with injuries but his decision-making during the past few weeks has left a lot to be desired.

The Barcelona trip should have been cancelled when Albion beat Liverpool in the FA Cup, and he has been unable to identify and fix tactical issues on the pitch without help from his senior players.

But the Baggies find themselves in this mess for a number of reasons, and there is not just one person who can be scapegoated.

This squad is probably going down regardless of who’s in charge, and further change could put the long-term future of the club at greater risk for a punt at an unlikely short-term gain.

Time is running out for one last roll of the dice – if indeed there is any time left.

Luring the right man to Albion at this stage would be extremely tricky, if not impossible.

Those already managing other clubs will want to see through the season, and those not managing are out of work for a reason.

Few would agree to a short-term contract until the end of the season, which is what Albion need. Managers, just like players, have agents who get them the best deals. Only a desperate one would agree to add a relegation to their CV for two months of pay.

Chief executive Mark Jenkins is a pragmatist, just like Jeremy Peace, and he will have weighed all of this up.

Pardew will probably leave in the summer or once relegation is confirmed, depending on his contractual arrangement.

Appointing his successor after the season ends would not only give the Baggies a better chance of getting the right man in, it would give them more time to identify who that is.

That means that barring a miracle in the last nine games, Pardew is essentially a dead man walking, but this malaise isn’t solely down to him.

Tony Pulis’s role should not be ignored. He may be fantastically adept at grinding points out of a poor bunch of players, but his approach to tactics and recruitment has left this team unable to adapt to anyone else.

The board, and in particular Nick Hammond, deserve scrutiny for appointing Pardew, while the players have underperformed this season and, at times, behaved unprofessionally.

There are still plenty of good people at the club, people who worked flat out to put on the tremendous Cyrille Regis tributes, people on a lot less money than those already mentioned.

Unfortunately it is those unseen faces who stand to lose the most when relegation is confirmed.

Pardew’s job is under threat, but so is theirs, and they can’t simply head back into the Sky studio should they lose them.

Anyway, it seems Pardew won’t be returning to his media work for at least a little while longer.

While that may stun many after six defeats in a row, there is now nowhere left to turn and frankly, no point in turning anyway.