Alan Pardew reacts to Southampton new manager news amid West Brom update
Alan Pardew expects Ivan Juric to have a job on his hands at Southampton after they made a move for him instead of West Brom manager Carlos Corbera.
Corberan was said to be a frontrunner [AS] in the Saints’ quest to find someone to turn their season around as they sit rock bottom of the Premier League.
However, talkSPORT reported that despite the 41-year-old being keen on the opportunity, it was Southampton who backed away as they were not keen on paying a figure of at least £2.5million to release him from his contract at The Hawthorns.
The Spaniard may have had a lucky escape though after Pardew gave his verdict on the job that lies ahead as he said on talkSPORT [19 December, 2:30]: “Well obviously, you know I think a change was always on the cards there because the results unfortunately are going to have such a spotlight on them that the manager’s philosophy was never going to survive I’m afraid.
“So you know that, that needs to change that style.
“I was just hearing Crooky [Alex Crook] talk about the defending but you know most of their poor defending was based around giving own half giveaways you know, making mistakes and being vulnerable.
“That would be the first thing I address if I was going in there. But you know, they need a lift and obviously they need a result, quickly.”
Carlos Corberan needs to focus on job in hand at West Brom
Although the Spaniard would have enjoyed the step up to manage in the Premier League, he will have to shift his focus to the job in the Black Country and try to lead West Brom to promotion instead.
Albion have fallen out of the top six in recent weeks and therefore, getting a result against Bristol City on Sunday [22 December] will be important to try and lift them back up the table towards where they are aiming to be at the end of the season.
The 41-year-old has got his side playing some nice football this term and the Baggies have scored a fair amount of goals with 24 under their belt so far. However, Pardew’s comments suggest that there needs to be less focus on attacking and a tight defensive model at St Mary’s going forward.
While we know the Spaniard has a well-organised side, staying put could be the best thing for the boss for now as he is able to fully show his style of play rather than having to make immediate adaptations to match with the aim of staying in the Premier League.
In other West Brom news, there has been a fitness update on Grady Diangana.
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