Gary Megson: West Brom players need to step up

The 58-year-old took training yesterday in the absence of a head coach and will lead the team out at Wembley this Saturday if Pulis’s replacement hasn’t been found.

He is impressed with the talent in the Albion squad, but reckons the team have been underperforming recently.

The Baggies have lost four matches in a row and haven’t won any of their last 11 games.

And Megson, who was Pulis’s assistant head coach this season, would be disappointed if they didn’t feel partly responsible for their head coach’s demise.

“There are some good players in there not playing too well at the moment,” he said. “They have to accept that.

“We have players who I know can certainly play better, other people know they can play better, but more importantly they know they can play better.

“They have to step up. They will be given the opportunity and they have to start playing like we know they can play.”

Shortly after Pulis was sacked on Monday morning, chairman John Williams called Megson and asked him to take charge of the team until a replacement could be found.

Megson took training on Tuesday and when he was asked what the mood was like in the camp he said: “They’re low on confidence.

“Not because of this (Pulis being sacked), but because of the way we’ve been playing of late.

“They’ve always been very good in training, but that’s not where the bread and butter is, that’s in playing. People talk about nerves and lack of confidence, if you actually think about it you’ll convince yourself you’re not confident.

“If you’re hurtling all over the pitch, winning tackles, getting forward, putting in crosses, you won’t have time to think whether you’re nervous or not.

“That’s what we’ve got to try and instill in them as soon as we can.

“We’ve got to have a starting point, from my point of view that is always hard work.”

Pulis always insisted the players never gave up under him and even after the Chelsea game, he praised their work ethic when it appeared one or two might have taken their foot off the gas.

And Megson dismissed the suggestion the Welshman had lost the dressing room.

“No, that’s a bit of misnomer – lost the dressing room,” he said. “When you’re the manager of a football club there’s always some players that aren’t being picked.

“They’re not as happy as the ones that are being picked. Such is life and you can’t really get away from that.”

And when he was asked if the players felt some responsibility for Pulis’s sacking, he said: “They wouldn’t say so directly but I’d be disappointed if that wasn’t the case.

“We’ve got a few who have not been playing as well as they can, and it’s culminated in a run.

“In terms of whether they feel responsible for Tony, I’m not so sure, but everyone plays a part in being successful and failing.”