Tony Mowbray has given his full backing to under-fire goalkeeper Dean Kiely and implored the faithful Hawthorns hoards to do the same. The Baggies' boss reserved praise for the fans who rallied round the former
However despite the signing of Michal Danek in January, Mowbray has vowed to stick with his number one.
"I'll make my decisions about the goalkeeping situation for the benefit of the team and the club," the
"Dean understands that.
"He did take a bit of criticism from a small section of supporters on Saturday.
"From my perspective, that was disappointing.
"The supporters have stuck with the team through thick and thin this season and we need that kind of backing more than ever now.
"As I've always said, if anyone's going to boo, it should be at the end of the game and not during because it doesn't benefit the team while they're playing for points.
"It wasn't the whole stadium - it just was a minority of supporters who vented their frustration.
"It was great to see other sections of the crowd reacting to that by showing great support for Dean.
"It's important we all stick together as we try to achieve our goals.
"Yes, we get disappointed and frustrated at times but once the ball's rolling on the pitch we should all be unified in support of the team."
Mowbray also believes that's Kiely's wealth of invaluable experience will help the stopper during the current adversity and hopes it can be a catalyst to a return to top-form.
"The positive for me is that Dean is 37," Mowbray continued.
"If he was, say, twenty-four, I might be thinking it would be affecting him.
"But I'm sure he can cope. He has probably been there before.
"All goalkeepers go through periods like this and I think Dean is big enough to take whatever flak comes his way.
"I think he suffered a bit of negativity towards him six weeks or so ago and then got four clean sheets out of five on the bounce.
"We are looking for a similar reaction from the team.
"Dean is our goalkeeper at this moment in time and, in my opinion, doing a job between our sticks for a team who, if we win our games in hand, will go top of the table.
"I don't see any reason at the moment to change him."