West Bromwich Albion

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West Brom boss Eric Ramsay insists "there are no easy answers" to their plight after they lost 2-0 at home to Coventry to deepen their relegation woes.

The Baggies are just a point and a place above the bottom three and Ramsay is winless in his first eight games in charge.

West Brom fans booed at the end and Ramsay says there is no obvious way out.

He told BBC Radio WM: "There's no easy answer to our position and if there was an easy answer, someone would have arrived at it by now.

"We have to make sure we keep the approach, where we grind away, we don't get distracted, we make sure we push the messages we feel are important day to day and that the group responds to those.

"I was extremely disappointed with the manner of the goals and to come away with nothing, which in our situation is far from ideal and not what we would want in any way.

"I felt we started the game positively and aggressively, we connected with the crowd and there was real energy.

"Then we really let ourselves down after five or six minutes. Unfortunately another goal followed that quickly and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb."

West Bromwich Albion enter this Midlands derby still seeking a first win under head coach Eric Ramsay.

Having been appointed on 12 January, the Baggies have lost four and drawn three of his seven games in charge, which leaves them only two points clear of the relegation zone.

Coventry returned to the top of the table with their first win in four games when beating second-placed Middlesbrough on Monday night.

• West Brom have lost their past two league games against Coventry, while they have not suffered three defeats in a row against them since August 1968 (a run of four).

• After winning this season's reverse fixture (3-2 in November), Coventry will be aiming to do the league double over West Brom for the first time since the 1969-70 campaign (in the top flight).

• West Brom have drawn their past two league matches 0-0 (v Stoke and Birmingham); they last played out three consecutive goalless draws in league competition in February-March 1983 (a run of four).

• Since the start of December, only West Brom (2) and Sheffield Wednesday (1) have won fewer points away from home in the Championship than league leaders Coventry (3 – W0 D3 L4).

• Haji Wright has scored five of Coventry's last eight league goals, including a hat-trick against Middlesbrough last time out (3-1) – his second hat-trick in the Championship (also vs Sunderland in March 2025).

Former West Bromwich Albion defender Kyle Bartley has called for Baggies fans to get behind their team when they host league leaders Coventry City on Saturday (12:30 GMT) in their fight against relegation.

Albion are currently two points above the drop zone and have not won a Championship game in 2026 so far.

But the 34-year-old believes the home stands can help change the tide for the struggling side.

"I would urge every single West Brom fan, for these next two home games, to get behind the team," Bartley told BBC Radio WM.

"From a player's perspective, and being in that situation, the fans can have a real effect on the team and on individuals.

"Just try and stick behind the team. If we can get to the end of the season and stay in the Championship, the recruitment process in the summer will look a lot different from what it has done in the past two years."

Listen to more of Bartley's thoughts on BBC Sounds

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Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo once said: "Goals are like ketchup. Sometimes, as much as you try, they don't come out, and when they come, many come all at the same time."

West Bromwich Albion have to hope they are at the point in their season where the ketchup bottle is ready to pay out because they've been starved of sauce for quite some time.

Only Stoke, Oxford and Sheffield Wednesday have failed to score on more occasions than the Baggies this season.

Albion have drawn a blank in 11 Championship games this campaign, but the much more pressing concern is how many of those ducks have come recently.

Eric Ramsay's side have failed to find the back of the net in four of their past six league outings, and in the trio of goalless games that preceded the FA Cup clash with Norwich they didn't really deserve to score a goal either.

The Baggies created precious little in those games, averaging a measly 0.29xG per game and while the back-to-back clean sheets against Stoke and Birmingham were welcome, it's wins Albion need in many of the upcoming games, not draws.

The spectre of relegation looms large.

Portsmouth's victory on Tuesday left Albion just one place and two points outside the relegation zone and the Baggies face three relegation rivals in their next four games.

So, what do Albion need to do to start firing again and drag themselves clear of danger?

The biggest priority seems to be to get their attacking players match fit.

Karlan Grant is the one Albion will have to do without for much of the remainder of the season and that is a huge blow.

The wide forward had scored three of Albion's previous 10 goals prior to his injury against Derby County and was, statistically, by far and away the Throstles' most dangerous player at that point.

Grant's absence has been further compounded by fitness struggles for his opposite number on the other side of the field, Mikey Johnston.

The Irishman remains the Championship's top assister with nine but has failed to start either of the past two league games due to a groin injury.

Albion will be hoping he can shake that off ahead of the visit of Coventry on Saturday, against whom Johnston produced two brilliant assists earlier in the season.

Those assists were both delivered to Aune Heggebo during a run where the Norwegian really caught fire, scoring seven goals in seven games across November and December.

However, that success came at a price as the Scandinavian frontman was asked to play a whopping six consecutive 90 minutes in just 28 days across the hectic December period.

That seems to have left Heggebo looking jaded and, unfortunately, his understudies haven't proved ready for Championship action.

Ramsay has spoken about how he is currently "nudging" Josh Maja and Daryl Dike toward 90-minute fitness, which is a worrying thing to say in February.

However, you can see why this is a problem he must fix when you consider that previous boss Ryan Mason only gave Maja an average of 23 minutes per game he was available and Dike a pitiful two minutes per game.

Ramsay has significantly upped those numbers to get the duo up to speed.

Maja bagged 12 goals in 26 starts last season prior to injury, while Dike hit seven in 14 back in 2022-23 (the last time he was fit for a significant period), so both have the pedigree to score goals at this level.

If Ramsay can get them fit and firing, it could be Albion's saving grace.

They certainly need something because if they don't start scoring soon, the Baggies will undoubtedly find themselves playing ketchup with the rest of the relegation battlers.

See more from Chris Hall at Albion Analysis, external

West Brom manager Eric Ramsay said there were positives to take from his side's FA Cup exit at Norwich City.

The Baggies head coach told BBC Radio WM: "I'm really disappointed to lose the game, particularly given how the second half went, and how we felt that we grew into the game and played with some real authority for a large portion of that second half.

"I felt strongly before the game that, irrespective of the outcome, we had to come out feeling positive across a number of other elements and there were strong performances from the young players Ollie [Bostock], Harry [Whitwell] and from Hindo [Mustapha] and we had to feel that we were nudging players towards 90 minutes fit.

"The guys that haven't been able to hit 90 minutes all that regularly so far this season. The fact we've done that across the board is pleasing.

"We weren't happy with the first-half performance. There wasn't the level of aggression and competitiveness that we would have expected and we lacked control on the ball. That was entirely different in the second half."

There are seven ties in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Burton v West Ham (12:15) - BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Radio Derby

• Burnley v Mansfield - BBC Radio Lancashire & BBC Radio Nottingham

• Man City v Salford - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3 & BBC Radio Manchester

• Norwich v West Brom - BBC Radio Norfolk & BBC Radio WM

• Port Vale P-P Bristol City

• Southampton v Leicester- BBC Radio Solent & BBC Radio Leicester

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:45) - BBC iPlayer,BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (with second half on BBC Radio 5 Live), BBC Radio WM & BBC Radio Newcastle

• Liverpool v Brighton (20:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Merseyside & BBC Radio Sussex

Kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burton v West Ham" of "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Brighton", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

How to follow the FA Cup fourth round on the BBC

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West Bromwich Albion will use their FA Cup fourth-round tie at Norwich City on Saturday as a chance to create some depth in their squad, says head coach Eric Ramsay.

The Baggies will be without defenders George Campbell (injured) and Nat Phillips (concussion) for the trip to Carrow Road while midfielder Jed Wallace will be rested.

"With how we're approaching the whole day it's an opportunity to start to create some depth. There's no problem with how we'll line up tomorrow," Ramsay told BBC Radio WM.

"I feel good about how we look across the backline, the problem is the level of depth and how we look as we move into a busy period from next week onwards. All the decisions will be made with that in mind."

West Brom have lost three and drawn three Championship games since Ramsay replaced Ryan Mason as head coach last month, a run that included a 5-0 thrashing at home by Norwich but the boss says that is not on their minds even with a much-changed side likely to take to the field on Saturday.

"There's only one way to look at these games and that is: we want to win, we want to perform and we want players to step up, put their hands up and say they're ready to be picked," he added.

"There are countless stories every year of players who use this competition as their springboard into the first team and we've got a couple of guys who've been around the squad, one or two who've been out on loan who are desperate for an opportunity."

Image source, Opta

Norwich welcome Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion to Carrow Road in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Philippe Clement's Canaries have climbed to 16th, three places above the Baggies, by virtue of six wins in their past seven games in all competitions.

Five-time winners Albion are winless in eight - which included a 5-0 home loss to Norwich on 20 January - though have kept back-to-back clean sheets for the first time under Eric Ramsay.

• Norwich City have lost three of their four FA Cup ties against West Brom, winning the other 2-1 at the Hawthorns in the fourth round in 2011/12.

• West Brom have already beaten Norwich at Carrow Road in the Championship this season. The Baggies last won two away games against an opponent in a season in 2007/08, winning twice away at both Coventry and Peterborough.

• Norwich won 5-1 against Walsall at Carrow Road in this season's FA Cup third round but the Canaries haven't won consecutive home games in the competition since January 2003.

• West Bromwich Albion are looking to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since 2019/20 – they've lost their past two ties at this stage, 3-0 against Bristol City in 2022/23 and 2-0 against Wolves in 2023/24.

• Norwich will be without the injured Jovon Makama, who netted a hat-trick for the Canaries in the third round against Walsall and has scored in each of his past four FA Cup appearances, scoring six goals – no player in the last two seasons has scored more than Makama's six.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

There is no denying that the start of Eric Ramsay's reign as Albion boss was nothing short of a disaster.

The Baggies picked up one point from his first four matches in charge, and the key reason was the volume of goals they were shipping.

In that quartet they conceded a whopping 12 goals, dropping Albion into the relegation zone and decimating their goal difference.

Something had to change, and it has.

Ramsay has taken Albion back to basics in so many ways over the past week.

First, the team has reverted to the more familiar shape the club has largely deployed over the past few seasons under a variety of managers.

The reversion to a familiar 4-2-3-1 has seemed to breed confidence, and the players look far more at home. There has also been a strong focus on stemming the tide of goals against.

Albion were dire defensively away at Portsmouth, conceding 20 shots on goal, an xG against of 2.57 (their worst of the season) and subsequently let in three goals.

However, this has been followed by back-to-back clean sheets against Stoke and Birmingham - the first time Albion have achieved such a feat since September 2024.

The Stoke game was a rock-solid rearguard display allowing a miserly 0.39 xG to the visitors. The Birmingham game was different.

Blues created chances, but through sheer will and determination, Albion kept their clean sheet intact.

This effort, desire and determination was all too sadly lacking in the defeats by Norwich and Portsmouth, but there has been a clear shift in mentality and total buy-in from the players since the switch back to a back four.

All of this gives Albion a clear foundation to build on as they go into a massive run of games after the FA Cup weekend.

The Baggies face Coventry at The Hawthorns, and then their next three fixtures are against teams currently sitting in 18th, 23rd and 17th places respectively.

It is a vital run of games against relegation rivals which will likely go a long way to determining their fate.

Of course 0-0s are not going to carry Albion to safety, and it is worth acknowledging the elephant in the room which is they have scored just once in their past five fixtures.

Ramsay's next task is to resolve the issues at the top end of the field so Albion can turn one point into three.

But the first job was to stop the defeats. Albion had lost nine of their past 12 games prior to last Saturday.

Now he has done that, Ramsay has given the players confidence, belief and a platform to go and hopefully win some big games.

West Bromwich Albion's improvement has come after some honest conversations among the players, says goalkeeper Max O'Leary.

The Baggies have earned successive goalless draws to move two points clear of the Championship relegation zone and the former Bristol City keeper says they are the result of discussions following a 3-0 loss at Portsmouth.

"We've had some honest discussions with each other. The Pompey game wasn't good enough, we all knew that," O'Leary told BBC Radio WM.

"It doesn't matter what formation we play, [it's about] just getting the principles right and everyone putting that maximum effort in and looking in the mirror and saying 'I gave everything today'.

"I like to think I'm a fresh voice coming in and seeing it from a different perspective is what you need sometimes, and I'm not afraid to have conversations with people about what's gong on and how we can try to improve together."

The 29-year-old has played all four league games for West Brom since moving to The Hawthorns on a short-term deal in January and has helped them keep successive clean sheets for the first time since October 2024.

"It gives us a foundation to build on. You're in the game if it's 0-0 and we keep that clean sheet," O'Leary added.

"I've only been here a few games, to get something from the game puts you in good stead. You're in the game at half-time, in the 70th and 80th minute and then you can maybe go and nick a goal."

West Brom visit Norwich in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

West Bromwich Albion are showing progress, according to head coach Eric Ramsay.

The Baggies have moved two points clear of the Championship relegation zone after a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City on Tuesday night.

"It is real progress and I said to the players at the end this is what is required between now and the end of the year," Ramsay told BBC Radio WM.

"I can't guarantee we will be a team who will play with real fluidity and we are going to be a team that finds itself in real flow but what I hope to be able to guarantee is that we will run in the way we did and show that desperation to keep that ball out of the back of the net."

Albion are yet to win any of Ramsay's six games in charge, drawing three and losing three but they are now unbeaten in their past two Championship matches after a goalless draw with Stoke at the weekend.

"We backed up Saturday's performance really well and showed a lot of the same characteristics but I would say we went on another level in terms of the front footedness, the way in which we were able to turn the ball over in their first third and aggression, organisation and will to win," he added.

"I have to tip my hat to the players. They have a really deep squad – you saw what they brought off the bench – but I feel we went toe-to-toe and yes the last five or six minutes felt frantic but if you strip away those we were really good value for the point."

West Brom visit Norwich in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

West Bromwich Albion forward Daryl Dike says he is living the dream despite struggling for game time this season.

The 25-year-old made his first start for nine months in Saturday's goalless draw with Stoke in the Championship after 10 substitute appearances this season.

"For me it's been a little bit frustrating because I haven't been able to help as much as I'd have liked to, but at the end of the day I always tell myself no matter what the situation is, control what I can control," Dike told BBC Radio WM.

"I always train my hardest and make sure I take care of my body and I tell myself the chance will come as long as I keep pushing and doing things, everything will work out in your favour.

"For me, I'm living the dream. I know sometimes the dream looks a little different, but I'm still living the dream and I can't complain."

The American has scored nine goals in 54 appearances since joining the Baggies from MLS side Orlando four years ago and is out of contract in the summer.

Dike has had to impress a succession of new bosses since arriving at the Hawthorns, and is now playing under his sixth permanent head coach, but remains philosophical about game time.

"Every manager puts out squads that are going to give us results and, as I said, I just control what I can control," he added.

"I'm a footballer, I always want to play, so it's just how it happens."