Under-fire Pardew defiant after chat with Baggies chiefs

WEST Brom boss Alan Pardew is determined to fight on after holding “clear-the-air” talks with the club to address recurring speculation over his future.

Pardew is under heavy pressure with his side seven points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League after winning just one of his 16 games in charge.

Last week’s dismal 4-1 loss to Leicester, a sixth successive league defeat, sparked fresh reports his position was under threat.

Pardew responded by arranging a meeting with chief executive Mark Jenkins and director of football administration Richard Garlick and feels he was given a fair hearing.

The former Newcastle and Crystal Palace boss said: “I said it was probably time I spoke to those upstairs and said, ‘I don’t know where all this speculation is coming from, every week I am on my last game etc. Let’s clear the air.’

“I told them what I think of what perhaps needs to happen at this club going forward. They listened to that and I am still in a job.”

Boosted by that, Pardew insists he has not given up hope of survival.

He added: “Where there is hope, I have to believe. If I don’t, no-one else will. Certainly the media don’t.

“Our win percentage shows it is probably unlikely but a win in this league can change things dramatically.

“I did not imagine I would be in this scenario but I am. I need to keep showing the fight I have in me.

“Trust me, I care. I want this team to win. We have to show the fight, even if we are not the greatest team. We have to fight to the last moment.”

Pardew also called on his senior players to stand up and be counted - or relegation will be inevitable.

He said: “It is about players performing.

“We are getting into a period now where the senior players need to deliver, otherwise we are not going to be in with a shout of staying up.”