Report discloses the demand West Brom owner has made of Alan Pardew

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Alan Pardew’s future as manager of Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion appears to be hanging by a thread.

Alan Pardew has a lot of work to do if he wants to remain as West Brom manager.

It has been another damaging week for Pardew at The Hawthorns: defeats to Chelsea and Southampton mean they are seven points adrift of safety in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup, while off-field issues have also dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In the aftermath of the so-called ‘Taxi-gate’, West Brom owner Guochuan Lai (second from right) has told Pardew that he must restore discipline to his side and clean up the mess that has somewhat damaged the reputation of the Midland giants.

The Sun (page 46, 20^th February) reports that The Baggies were seen in China as something of a safe investment as they were unlikely to be relegated.

However, that was when Tony Pulis, a man who has famously never suffered the drop during almost 30 years of management, was at the helm.

But, since Pulis’ dismissal in November, West Brom’s slide has continued at an alarming rate, with Pardew unable to arrest an increasingly desperate situation. The Baggies have won one of their last 25 Premier League games.

However, The Sun adds that Lai wants to avoid sacking Pardew if he can as he does not want to appoint a third manager in the space of one season – or pay out the remaining two-and-a-half years of the former Newcastle United boss’ contract.

Nonetheless, with crucial relegation six-pointers against Huddersfield and Watford coming up, it is understood that Pardew must get results in both of those games or face the axe.