Tony Pulis has revealed he has held conversations with current West Brom interim boss James Morrison and clearly fears the worst for his former club.
Morrison, who has taken charge since Eric Ramsay’s dismissal, played under Pulis and appears to have reached out to his former boss for words of advice.
Pulis has shared further insight into the club’s current situation, explaining there are things going on behind the scenes that make West Brom’s fight for survival even more difficult.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “I spoke to James Morrison last night, he was a player for me, Mozza was fantastic for me, great lad.
“He is engrained in that football club, they have got a real struggle on their hands. There are a lot of things happening behind the scenes that people don’t see and don’t understand.
“It is a fabulous club, I really enjoyed it, it is a fantastic football area and you don’t need West Brom going down.”
Morrison can do worse than reach out to Pulis for advice, who has built a firefighter reputation in the game.
Pulis previously saved West Brom from relegation from the Premier League in 2015 before guiding the club to a top-10 finish.
Perhaps unfairly, Pulis is known for his defensive setup, something Morrison will need to fix if Albion are to survive the drop.
The club have the fourth-worst record in the Championship this season, having conceded 52 goals so far.
The Tony Pulis approach James Morrison should follow
Pulis, speaking about Arsenal’s current “boring football” criticism in the top flight this season, thought back to his time in charge of West Brom to explain playing to your team’s strengths.
He said: “I managed three different clubs in the Premier League and the three clubs had three different strengths. What you do as a manager when you go into a football club is you find out what the strengths of that team is and you play to the strengths of that team.
“I go to West Brom and you had Morrison, Gardner and Brunt. They weren’t players who could take people on so we played then inside the pitch. We actually played 4-2-2-2 and we made thatnice and solid and made it difficult for teams to break us down and beat us.
“I’ve always been a manager who has played to the strengths of the team and then played to their strengths, we had Brown and Berahinho up front who were four foot two so it’s just finding the strengths and being competent enough to put in place a system that suits that team.”
James Morrison hints at huge changes to West Brom starting XI
Morrison’s team selection for the defeat to Oxford was very similar to how Ramsay had picked the side for his first game in charge, something he came to regret.
Speaking after the game, he suggested there could be huge changes for the trip to Sheffield United on Saturday.
Speaking after the defeat, Morrison said: “We said in the week what their gameplan was and we just let it happen, it’s not acceptable, it’s been an underlying issue all season or we’re going to be bang in trouble.
“We gave ourselves an uphill battle after 30 minutes, so how are we supposed win a football match when it’s this tight?
“Maybe I’m looking for excuses trying to make me feel a bit better but maybe we’ve got to change personnel, give other people a go or put the biggest people on the pitch and hope for set plays; that’s the moment we’re in.”