View: Bilic faces make or break West Brom clash v Newcastle as Albion future hangs by a thread
Slaven Bilic’s future at West Brom must be hanging by a threat ahead of Albion’s vital showdown against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday.
After suffering a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns on Sunday, there are huge doubts surrounding Bilic’s position as manager of the Baggies.
The Mirror reported earlier this week that 52-year-old Bilic “may have just one match to save his skin” after the heavy defeat to the Eagles and Charlton manager Lee Bowyer has been earmarked as a potential replacement.
West Brom’s defeat to Palace was a tough one to take.
Matheus Pereira’s sending off was farcical but the worst thing about it was to see the team absolutely cave in on itself after how well they did against Tottenham, Manchester United and Sheffield United.
The Baggies lost against Spurs and Man United but losses to them were expected and the main thing was to not get rolled over and put in strong performances.
They did exactly that and if it wasn’t for yet more horrific refereeing, Bilic could have overseen a shock win at Old Trafford.
Sheffield United followed and even though it was an even match, West Brom came out on top to win their first Premier League match of the season courtesy of Conor Gallagher’s deflected goal in the first half.
It doesn’t matter how you win in games like that. It just matters that you do win.
Palace was another similar match. No one demanded much in the way of a performance but it was vital to win or at least pick up another momentum-helping point.
But Bilic, who’s known to be more of a motivator than a tactician, saw his players’ heads drop after Pereira’s sending off at 1-1.
It was inexcusable.
There’s an old cliche that playing against 10 men can be harder because the handicapped side rally and put in more effort than they would have done if they had 11.
If Bilic, the great motivator, cannot motivate his players when going down to 10 men, what chance does he have of motivating this side to avoid relegation this season?
We’re not saying West Brom should sack Bilic but we simply do not see a way back for him if the Baggies lose to Newcastle.
Another good performance won’t suffice. It’s a must-win match for both the Baggies and for their under-pressure manager.
If they don’t win, where do you see Albion picking up their points in a run of matches against Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal?
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips claims this outcast could be knocking on Bilic’s door demanding answers.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.