West Brom boss Steve Bruce stands by Jake Livermore after red card

The Baggies travelled to Bramall Lane hoping to get their season back on track after defeats to Preston North End and Millwall led to Valerien Ismael being sacked as head coach.

Despite being in charge less than a week, Bruce opted to change Albion’s approach in Yorkshire with the team playing a 4-3-3 formation for the first time this season.

And the players appeared to be enjoying the freedom given to them by their new boss – with the Baggies the better team in the opening half-hour.

They did fall behind in that spell – with Billy Sharp scoring against the run of play for the hosts.

But after Livermore’s dismissal – which arrived in the 37th minute for a needless challenge on Conor Hourihane – they never looked like getting back into the game.

Bruce, though, felt his captain shouldn’t have been dismissed – with the Blades wrapping up the points late on when Sharp netted a second.

“Up until the red card, even though we were a goal down, I thought we were the better side,” Bruce said.

“We have to improve in the final third. Find that cutting edge.

“But I was pleased with the way we started – I'd asked them to change in five days and that was a big call for them. But I thought they enjoyed it.

“Up until the red card we were the better side. I thought the red card was harsh. I thought it was a decent challenge.

“There was one similar by me 15 minutes earlier where the referee doesn’t give a free-kick, never mind a yellow card. It’s that inconsistency.

“And up until then, I was thinking just how much I miss the honesty and how refreshing the Championship is. There are genuine challenges that you don’t get away with in the Premier League.

“However I thought the referee got it wrong, unfortunately. And also I think what they have to bear in mind is as soon as you show a red card, it spoils the spectacle.

“It was a good game up until then but 10 men gave us too much to do.”

Bruce has been positive about Albion’s squad ever since arriving as boss – with the 61-year-old saying he believes it is one of the best in the Championship.

And he said he still felt positive about the players despite the loss at Bramall Lane.

“They gave us everything - they never gave up and we were still in it with 10 minutes to go,” the former Newcastle boss continued.

"We have our goalkeeper to thank, he made two unbelievable saves – one in particular.

“But when you are down to 10 men, you would expect that. We huffed and puffed but couldn’t make the breakthrough.”

Albion’s run of three straight defeats has seen them drop to ninth in the Championship.

That is quite alarming to see – with the Baggies looking certainties to finish in the top six earlier in the season.

Asked if dropping that low in the table will impact morale, Bruce said: “It’s probably the reason why I am sitting here – what's happened over the past few months.

“We have to address it. We have to look at Sheffield United – they are marching now but it was only two months ago they made a managerial change.

“It’s still all to play for and I’ve been pleased with what I have seen so far.

“It’s been difficult to ask them to change what they have been doing for the past six, seven, months. But I thought looking at the squad they are suited to it so let’s see if it works.”

Asked if he will appeal Livermore’s red, Bruce said: “We’ll have a look tomorrow and see what the process is, and if I feel as though it’s right and we’ve got a chance, then I’ll look at it with a clear view.

“It depends on the views we’ve got. I saw it where I was and I thought he played the ball.”

Meanwhile, Bruce revealed Kyle Bartley – who missed the game in Yorkshire with a virus – visited hospital today to get checked over.

Thankfully, though, the defender is now back at home.

“It’s obviously nothing too serious, he’s got some kind of bug, not Covid - we’ve checked that,” Bruce added.

“It’s some sort of virus. We’ll see how he is. It’s a concern, of course. He got checked over thoroughly because he had a huge temperature spike yesterday which wasn’t great.”