West Bromwich Albion: James Morrison returns to interim role focused on job at hand

The failure of former Manchester United coach Ramsay, 34, who was without a win in his nine games in charge, has drawn sharp criticism from fans and raised questions over the wisdom of appointing a manager with no direct experience of the Championship or the English Football League.

Morrison said the situation that Ramsay walked into – with the club having lost 10 away games in a row and sitting seven points above the bottom three – would have been challenging for a lot of bosses.

“There’s also been experienced managers here who have come in midway through the season and found it difficult,” he said.

“So when you come in, you’ve got to try and get momentum quickly, get results, or ultimately the pressure is going to come.”

“The club are in a situation where they don’t want to be, so they’ve made a decision.

“It’s a brutal business. With Ryan, Tony and Eric, this is a results business, and in the Championship this is a big football club, so the expectation is going to be there.

“You’ve got to back it up early or the pressure comes on you.”