For around an hour in The Hawthorns’ home dressing room, Sam Allardyce tried to draw a line in the proverbial sand.
There were “home truths”, the West Bromwich Albion boss told journalists when he gave his post-match press conference shortly before midnight.
He had his say and so did his players. For Albion’s rapidly receding hopes of remaining in the Premier League, it felt like a crucial moment.
Such blunt, frank, to-the-point showdowns between coaches and players tend to lose their impact if used on a regular basis.
Sometimes managers only get one shot at galvanising their team with harsh words and uncomfortable truths and Allardyce felt last night, in the wake of another home humiliation (this time 5-0 at the hands of Manchester City) was the time to do it.
Allardyce finally emerged from the Hawthorns tunnel to begin his lengthy round of media duties and dissect publicly the latest Hawthorns embarrassment for his…
