Morale is at an all-time low in the West Brom ranks.
Eight consecutive defeats have left the Baggies rock bottom of the Premier League table and a full seven points off their nearest relegation rivals, with seven games to play.
Manager Alan Pardew is well aware of the difficulty of the task he faces but his side clearly has a severe problem when it comes to defending leads.
In their pair of most recent outings, West Brom found themselves ahead only to lose concentration and succumb to the familiar taste of defeat.
On Saturday, the Baggies were leading with 13 minutes remaining but threw it all away and allowed Bournemouth to fire their way to a 2-1 victory.
After that heartbreaking capitulation at the Vitality Stadium, the visiting players were reduced to tears according to centre-half Jonny Evans.
“I think there is hope,” Evans told Sky Sports. “Even after the Bournemouth game there was real disappointment in the changing room. It’s not like we have got to the point where we have accepted relegation.
“A lot of people have been writing us off. I understand with the position we are in it will be very difficult to get out of.
“There were a few tears after the game at the weekend because going into that game there was a lot of hope and optimism that we would get something from it and try to turn the season around even at this late stage. We were upset.
The Hawthorns is not a happy place https://t.co/yoHKhEsisD
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 18, 2018
“We were ahead and then the game swung in the last 15 minutes and I think it has been the story of our season. It’s hard to take sometimes.
“Mathematically, though, we still have hope and we keep going until it is mathematically not possible. We owe that to ourselves and the fans to do that. That’s what we will continue to do that.”
Repeated examples of insubordination among his players have not made Pardew’s job any easier as he’s already had to deal with the story about four senior players stealing a taxi in Spain, Chris Brunt lashing out at him in the dressing room and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak swearing at the dugout when he was substituted.
Ever since the players returned from Barcelona, where the training camp was supposed to galvanise the squad, the side has yet to register a victory.
But Evans, who was one of those involved in the taxi-stealing incident, insists that the trouble off the pitch has had nothing to do with the team’s shortcomings on it.
“I don’t think it has reflected anything on the pitch,” Evans said. “People try and relate things that aren’t always relatable but before we went to Barcelona and before the manager arranged the trip I think we were bottom of the league.
“Our performances throughout the season haven’t been up to scratch. We haven’t got enough points on board.
“It is very difficult. Sometimes it is important to keep your head and stay focused on your job on the pitch.
“We have quite a settled changing room and harmonious dressing room and we are all very friendly with each other. That has been a big positive for us. The place isn’t completely crumbling like things have been reported on the outside.”
