Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis has claimed that the appointment of Alan Pardew was the decision which cost West Brom their place in the Premier League last season.
On Friday, Pulis will face his old team for the first time since he was was sacked from the managerial position at the Hawthorns in November 2017, with the Baggies sitting precariously in 17th place.
Pardew was appointed as his successor but won just one league match before he was replaced by Darren Moore, who staged a late-season revival but was unable to prevent relegation.
Pulis says that the time was right for him to leave, but believes that his assistant manager Gary Megson should have been appointed in his stead, rather than Pardew.