Tony Mowbray publicly slammed his players before West Brom sacking, he ‘questioned’ some worrying issues

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All hell broke loose at West Bromwich Albion on Monday as a 3-1 defeat to Derby County was also followed by the dismissal of Tony Mowbray.

West Brom’s loss to Derby ended any chance of them breaking into the playoffs following a run of five defeats in six matches.

The Baggies hit a poor run of form at the worst point in the season as they kissed goodbye to their Championship play-off hopes, while West Brom fans were angry at the performance against Derby.

It was an outing that was devoid of any fight or quality, seeing them struggle to create meaningful opportunities against the relegation strugglers.

West Brom sacked Tony Mowbray as a result after they failed in their mission of finishing in the top six, and his final words as manager were telling.

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Tony Mowbray slammed West Brom players after Derby County defeat

Mowbray was hired as manager of the Baggies in January 2025, replacing the popular Carlos Corberan in the dugout after he joined Valencia.

The 61-year-old is known as an experienced Championship boss with experience of leading teams into the playoffs, something he was expected to achieve at the Hawthorns.

Unfortunately, he was unable to achieve that goal, and after the defeat on Monday, he publicly slammed his players and questioned their bravery, desire and other concerning attributes.

“I’ve questioned the players in there,” Mowbray said via West Brom’s official website. “I’ve questioned their bravery really. Not bravery in a physical sense, but bravery in the sense of getting on the ball because that’s the way I believe West Bromwich Albion should play, especially at home.

“We should be a team attacking the goal, having the ball, playing with intensity and putting shots and crosses in. That didn’t happen.

“We stand here now having lost 3-1 and we have to take the criticism and we have to take the questioning of the desire of the team. The team are hard enough on themselves and they’ll question each other about how that happened today.

“I hope they’re having conversations. I’ve told them what I think, what I watched today and what I saw. I don’t think it’s too harsh to say we lacked bravery. They might not like to hear that, but I have to be honest to the public who have come to support us.”

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Mowbray’s West Brom record in numbers

Mowbray’s comments on the West Brom players suggest he was done with them, and ultimately, there is no way back after breaking trust and the relationship with the players.

He threw them under the bus publicly, and perhaps that impacted the board’s decision to sack him, as he didn’t feel they were showing enough fight on the pitch.

In a week where Cardiff City sacked Omer Riza, West Brom were the latest Championship side to pull the trigger and this is how his record reads.

It’s a shame Mowbray’s tenure at the club didn’t work out, but unfortunately, a 29% win percentage was never going to wash with a side that has ambitions of making the play-offs as the hunt for a new manager begins.