West Brom head coach Eric Ramsay insists he is “not thinking about” relegation after Norwich thrashed them 5-0 in the Sky Bet Championship at The Hawthorns.
Ramsay suffered a second straight defeat after Friday’s 3-2 reverse to Middlesbrough as Albion’s fourth consecutive loss left them three points above the drop zone.
Oscar Schwartau put Philippe Clement’s side ahead in the 16th minute which was followed by goals from Ali Ahmed (49), Anis Ben Slimane (69), Ben Chrisene (73) and Mathias Kvistgaarden (90).
It was Albion’s heaviest second-tier defeat since losing 6-0 at Sheffield United in February 2000.
Albion have lost eight of their last 10 but Ramsay refused to get involved in talk of a relegation battle.
“I genuinely do not think about that (relegation). It’s not something I would weigh into the way I evaluate games,” he said.
“We have to recognise where we are and be humble. But the second we start to think like that it becomes a waste of our time.
“There’s no lack of care or desperation to win, but there’s a fragility that comes with everything that has led up to this point.
“We have to find a way to ensure that it doesn’t affect games in the way it did tonight.”
The Canaries moved to within a point of their hosts with their fifth win in eight.
Schwartau’s sweet low drive from 25 yards ripped into the bottom corner of the net.
Half-time substitute Slimane teed up Ahmed to sidefoot into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Slimane bundled home after goalkeeper Josh Griffiths tipped his first effort onto the post in the 69th minute, with defenders slow to react.
Chrisene lashed into the roof of the net after two defenders made a hash of heading away Kenny McLean’s free kick in the 73rd minute.
Substitute Kvistgaarden tapped home following a jinking run by fellow sub Papa Amadou Diallo after another giveaway at the back.
Norwich head coach Philippe Clement said: “I was really pleased with the performance.
“There were several really good things – a clean sheet and we haven’t had many of those this season, and that’s a target.
“Scoring five goals away from home is an important thing. We spoke a few weeks ago about being too dependent on our strikers so we need to create a team where the danger is coming from everywhere, so that’s getting better and better.
“We need to get people who are more used to being in these situations and are calm, because a few weeks ago we missed more chances.
“The hunger and desire of the team was so crucial.”
