West Brom boss Valerien Ismael demanded that his players 'take responsibility' after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Derby County today.

The Baggies were hoping to move into the automatic promotion places ahead of Bournemouth playing later on but they were beaten by a Colin Kazim-Richards goal after a ridiculous mix-up between Cedric Kipre and Sam Johnstone gave the forward an open goal.

Even though Albion were in charge for large spells, they didn't create enough clear chances and failed to score for the fifth time in nine games, which shows this type of performance was nothing new.

And, speaking to the club's media after the game, Ismael couldn't hide his anger at the squad.

"It’s more than disappointment. It’s more than frustration. I’m really upset with what I saw. There was a lack of mentality and desire to win. The mentality was not right.

"The high standards and the high expectations we have, we can’t keep talking about them. The players have to take responsibility for their performances. We can’t keep saying the same things every week. We need to show more desire."

The verdict

This is very strong criticism from Ismael and you can't imagine that the players will be pleased that he is questioning their desire and mentality.

Whether it's a fair comment is open to debate, as many Albion fans will be saying that the boss needs to be taking a look at himself as much as the players do.

What's clear though is that West Brom can't keep dropping points in this fashion if they want to finish in the top two. They are struggling to beat teams that sit deep and it's become a worrying theme this season, so something needs to change.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.