Wednesday 3 February 2016 13:51, UK
West Brom assistant manager David Kemp says he is surprised that fans booed boss Tony Pulis during Tuesday 1-1 home draw against Swansea.
Albion salvaged a point from the Premier League fixture thanks to an injury-time goal from Salomon Rondon.
However, there had been a negative atmosphere around The Hawthorns prior to that, Swansea's goal in the 64th-minute prompting chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' aimed at Pulis.
The supporters were apparently unhappy at the veteran manager's handling of forward Saido Berahino, who remained on the bench until just after the hour mark.
Asked what he made of the fans' chanting, Kemp said after the game: "Fans pay their money but I've got to be honest, I don't quite understand that.
"In the old days, when I was a young man, fans came along to cheer their heroes. Now they seem to wait for an opportunity to have a bit of a moan.
"Tony isn't an inexperienced manager, he's had nearly 1000 games. I don't think the booing helps, that's my own personal opinion. You want the fans to be your 12th man.
"In the previous home game against Aston Villa (a 0-0 draw) we didn't play well, there's no question about that, but I thought we were much better tonight.
"Whether they just expect you to roll over teams, I don't know where that comes from. It's not that easy. The Premier League is a tough league, you have to treat everybody with respect.
"If you come out and do your best, like I think our players do, you could complain about the quality maybe, but I don't think you could criticise their effort."
To add to West Brom's concerns, defender Jonny Evans was forced off with a hamstring injury eight minutes into the second half and is rated doubtful for Saturday's trip to Newcastle.
"He'll have that scanned to see the extent of that, hopefully it's not too bad," Kemp said.
"I think his previous one kept him out for a couple of weeks, so we'll hope for the best there. Everybody gets injuries but we've got some important players out right now. We've already got James Morrison out, and Chris Brunt."
