West Brom boss Eric Ramsay delivers 'basics' assessment and formation claim after abject Portsmouth defeat

The Baggies were leapfrogged into 20th in the Championship as Pompey sailed to a 3-0 victory having declared five minutes into the second half.

Ramsay's side put in a pitiful display in the first period and shipped twice in five minutes having frozen on the big occasion once again.

It leaves boss Ramsay with just the last-gasp point at Derby from his first four games at the helm and two heavy and damaging defeats to relegation rivals Norwich and Portsmouth, where Albion conceded eight goals in two games.

There was understandable toxicity in the away end and Ramsay said afterwards: "There were fundamentals missing from the first half today that led to the performance falling short, and how it feels as a whole, which contributes to confidence.

"We have to address some of the basics, some of the competition for second balls in the middle, that as we regain possession we're neat and tidy and show composure.

"And we have to look at some of the other macro factors, the systematic things that are wrapped around individual instances.

"I certainly won't be blaming individuals and we'll look at the collective.

"We have to do what I've talked about - own the performance, take accountability, look inward as a set of individuals and collective and make sure we get better."

Ramsay added: "I'm certainly concerned we didn't handle what was inevitably a quick start and a team that really draws upon the crowd.

"We of course set up in a way to try to feed that momentum and unfortunately did the opposite in the opening stages.

"The way that environment ended up feeling and the weight of it affected the players. I can't look at it any other way. We have to make sure we deal with it better in the future."

Ramsay once again started with his much-debated 3-4-3 formation though after a miserable first period it was scrapped with three substitutions and a switch to a back four.

But the lowly hosts netted a third four minutes after the interval and the final 40 minutes or so were a non-event.

There have been calls from some supporters for the formation to change and a return to a more conventional back four - though Ramsay insisted his tactical shape was not the issue. Danny Imray, the right wing-back signed on loan from Crystal Palace on Friday, started but came off at half-time after struggling.

"The system is not the problem," he added. "I'm not a manager that is dead set on playing a certain system irrespective of results and performances.

"As I've said from day one I'm minded to try to make sure we get the most from the individual players relevant to their qualities and we find something that suits them. That was not the case today.

"There will be no blindly following the path without adjustment and we've got to have a really good look at how we move forward, for sure."

The head coach had made four changes and was forced into three of them with Karlan Grant (hamstring) and defensive duo Krystian Bielik (shoulder) and George Campbell (hamstring) injured.