Baggies’ great escape still on
West Bromwich Albion's caretaker manager Darren Moore believes the club are on the mend, whether or not they avoid the drop.
Moore's side escaped relegation from the English Premier League twice on Saturday, first when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 thanks to an injury-time goal from Spurs youth product Jake Livermore, then again when another late goal earned Everton a 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Southampton in the day's late game.
A Saints win would have seen the Baggies go down, along with Stoke City, who are first to fall through the English Premier League trapdoor after a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
Instead, West Brom now have 11 points in the five games since Moore took over - a run of three wins and two draws.
The Midlands club knew only three points at the Hawthorns would be enough to stave off relegation and duly obliged, with Everton doing them a favour later.
Said Moore: "We've come together and there's been some pride restored and the feel-good factor within the community and within the supporters.
"I feel from the crowd there was an excellent energy in the football club.
"If it has restored that I'm really happy for the club, that's all anyone would want, so we're really happy."
Moore has now beaten Mauricio Pochettino, Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho in his five-game management tenure.
Mark Hughes might have a longer and more illustrious managerial career but his attempts to save Southampton from the drop have not been going well after Everton scored an injury-time equaliser via Tom Davies to deny the Saints what would have been a crucial 1-0 win.
The odds against the Saints avoiding relegation from the English Premier League tumbled dramatically with the result but the Welshman remained defiant.
Hughes' side are ahead of Swansea City, who occupy the last relegation spot, on goal difference. The sides meet on Wednesday morning (Singapore time).
Hughes said that the draw Everton achieved with a goal in the fifth minute of added time, after Nathan Redmond gave his side a 56th-minute lead, felt like a defeat, reported Reuters.
"We clearly haven't got what we deserved today," he told BT Sport.
"I'm really upset with the officials. The referee has made a decision to give the free-kick in the corner.
"He allows it to be taken from a false position, then we're on the back foot, and we're down to 10 men too because of a decision he made."
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