Caretaker boss James Shan says 'poor' West Brom must improve quickly

The temporary head coach, who is still in the dark over the length of his stint in charge, was disappointed by a poor performance at Millwall.

The Baggies lost 2-0 to Neil Harris's men on an afternoon where everything that could go wrong, did.

They fell behind because of a keeping error, missed a penalty, scored an own goal, and had a man sent off.

Albion travel to Bristol City in three days time, and Shan has urged his side to bounce back.

"We have to move on and turn our attention to that very quickly," said Shan. "We’ve got recovery on Sunday, a working group and prep work on the Monday.

"I’ll address the players together as a whole. I was disappointed with our back four defending and thought they were too deep. I’ve got an understanding of why that was and we need to improve that very quickly.

"I’m disappointed with the nature of both goals we conceded," he added. "We’ve had two similar games, against Birmingham and Millwall. They play quite similar.

"At times we struggled against some directness against Birmingham. The nature of the first goal was exactly that.

"It was a kick from the goalkeeper. We haven’t dealt with the first contact or the regain. I’ve not seen the goal back yet. I’m not sure if Sam (Johnstone) could do better, whether it’s gone through bodies and he’s seen it late.

"Maybe we could have got someone in front of him to make the block. We had a spell in the first half, after their bright start, when we gained some control. The timing more than anything of the first goal was most disappointing."

Albion were second best throughout large parts of the game against a Millwall side battling against relegation with a home win in the league in 2019 before today.

When Shan was asked why he thought it was such a poor performance, he said: "I think momentum plays a massive part in any game.

"We knew what to expect. I went to see them at Leeds last week. They were very quick and bright at Leeds and caused them problems.

"I thought we dealt with that for the first few minutes and gained some control. We had control of the game before they scored.

"After they scored we were frantic and lacked a bit of composure. I thought we were the better team going in at half time.

"I showed the lads some things at half-time. In possession and how, when and where we gained control. Top half of the pitch we could’ve defended better.

"We were a little but impatient and wanted to penetrate too often when we couldn’t recycle.

"The penalty miss is obviously a chance to gain some real momentum. I said to the boys, if we’d have scored one we’d have scored two or three.

"That was a big momentum changer because five minutes later they go and score. The nature of the goal we conceded was poor.

"We’ve cleared it and not stepped out in relation to the ball. We’ve left big gaps and big holes. People have said the ball was out of play.

"Whether it was or wasn’t, the manner in which they got in to create that chance was very disappointing. Obviously the sending off then leaves you with little to work with."

After scoring an own goal, Ahmed Hegazi was then sent off for a second bookable offence, before he booted the ball into the home fans.

"What I will say is that they’re both yellow cards for me," said Shan. "The first one was a yellow card and so was the second. As soon as the action happened I knew he’s be walking off the pitch and would be sent off."

Shan had won his first three games in charge, but now heads to Ashton Gate on Tuesday off the back of a defeat.

He admitted he was still in the dark about how long he would be in charge.

"It's been game by game so that's my mentality," said Shan. "As soon as one game is out the way it's get the lens focused on the next one.

"That's what we'll do, it's a tight turnaround so we'll be working diligently and hard tomorrow to be at our best for Bristol City."

When he was asked if this defeat could change the situation in the dug-out, he said: "I think that could change off any result.

"The instruction to me was Swansea, then it moved to Brentford, then it was the international break.

"Nothing happened so it was the Birmingham game, all I can do is keep looking at what game comes next and planning and preparing the lads to the best of my ability. That's what I continue to do.

"There's been no instruction from the hierarchy at the club to say you've got it until the end of the season. There's been no instruction from the club to say there will be changes in the next 24 or 48 hours or the coming days.

"I'm employed by the football club and I'll work under the instruction they give me. It's game by game and I'll continue to do that."