Pardew: Evans has not been stripped of captaincy
Jonny Evans is to be reinstated as West Brom captain, Baggies boss Alan Pardew has confirmed.
Evans was stripped of the armband against Southampton last weekend as fellow defender Gareth McAuley skippered the side for the FA Cup fifth-round tie.
Evans was one of four experienced West Brom players, along with Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill, to allegedly steal a taxi after breaking a club curfew during a warm weather training camp and team bounding exercise in Barcelona.
West Brom face a crucial home clash against Premier League relegation rivals Huddersfield on Saturday
and Pardew has said Evans will be captain.
“Jonny Evans will be captain on Saturday, yes, provided he comes through training tomorrow,” said Pardew.
“The disciplinary side is dealt with. There’s a board here that comes together and decides that and that is the decision that has been taken and we move on now.”
West Brom are bottom of the Premier League and seven points from the safety of 17th place, a position currently occupied by Saturday’s opponents Huddersfield.
Pardew knows his team owe the supporters after dragging the club’s name through the mud with the antics which took place in Spain.
“I was angry about the situation and it’s tempered with us being in a results business and the incident magnified that situation,” he said.
“The only way we can rectify it and get out of this situation is to win games. We have a massive game against a Huddersfield side that have improved recently and we need to win for the fans and for ourselves and show pride and honour in our performance.
“I don’t expect that stadium to be anything other than positive and we need to repay that faith from the fans. I am looking for my players to show the technical ability, courage and nouse to go out and do that.” Pardew has won only three of his 17 games in charge in all competitions since taking over in November
from Tony Pulis, who also won just three matches this season before his departure.
“This club was on a difficult run before I arrived and it hasn’t improved since I’ve been here and that’s at my door and I need to put that right,” said Pardew.
“But certainly this week we are much more focused and the desire levels have come together. We have three options – perform a great escape, fight and get relegated or go down with a whimper and I certainly hope it’s not the last one. We are determined it won’t be the last one.”