West Brom boss makes 'long and hard think' admission about set-up in survival fight

The former Minnesota boss, appointed three weeks ago, has brought a much-debated 3-4-3 formation to The Hawthorns which has been branded defensive by some fans and until defeat at Portsmouth last time out had players out of position at wing-back.

Ramsay said after his side were downed 3-0 at Fratton Park the formation was "not the problem", but added a possible rethink was needed for Albion's set up moving forward.

"We've got to make sure that we think long and hard about where the best pieces fit. It's something that, of course, we haven't yet solved," Ramsay said.

"Up until Saturday, we've had positive elements of each of the first three performances that I felt good enough about, I suppose, as we moved into that game to feel like we can persist with, in many ways, largely what we've done up until that point."

Ramsay, who is under increasing pressure for a first win, had previously felt a level of satisfaction from parts of his first three games at the helm, which included the 5-0 home hammering from Norwich.

The head coach switched to a back four for the second half at Portsmouth but the hosts declared with a third goal five minutes after the restart. The remainder of the clash was a non-event.

Last week's loan recruit Danny Imray, brought in to play as a natural right wing-back, struggled and came off at half-time.

Asked about the challenge of an immediate debut 24 hours after signing, Ramsay said: "For sure - and we wanted to throw him in at the deep end with the hope that it was a really positive day that could make the group feel fuller.

"And with some more balance, where we can get more out of some players that have played in slightly awkward positions perhaps, but it wasn't to be.

"It wasn't that Danny's performance was standout below the level in any way. I wanted to just make sure that we looked different, felt different, the shape was different (in the second half) and he paid the price."

Deadline day teenage loan recruits Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba from Villa, and Crystal Palace's Hindolo Mustapha are vying for a debut at home to Stoke on Saturday.