West Brom: Alan Pardew to remain in charge for another week

Alan Pardew will stay as West Brom boss for at least one more match despite Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Watford.

It had been thought another loss would spell the end of Pardew's short reign at the Premier League's bottom side.

However, club owner Guochuan Lai and chief executive Mark Jenkins noted the vast improvement in the performance at Vicarage Road, compared to the home defeat by Huddersfield a week earlier.

Pardew will therefore take charge of Saturday's home game against Leicester.

The Baggies, who have won just once under Pardew in 15 league matches, have now lost five games in a row and are eight points from safety with nine games remaining.

Pardew's position is being helped by a lack of obvious replacements, but his job still remains in danger, and a heavy defeat at the hands of Claude Puel's men next weekend could trigger a reaction.

But it is not out of the question the 56-year-old could remain at the helm until the end of the season, even if the club makes what appears to be an inevitable return to the Championship for the first time since 2010.

West Brom would then need to take a major strategic decision about how much to invest in an effort to get straight back up.