West Brom boss Pardew has held 'clear-the-air' talks with the club's hierarchy as the Baggies look to get out of trouble

West Brom boss Alan Pardew held "clear-the-air" talks with the club's top brass this week to address recurring speculation over his future.

Pardew, who was only appointed in November, is under heavy pressure with his side seven points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League after a run of six successive losses.

"I said it was probably time I spoke to upstairs and said, 'I don't know where all this speculation is coming from, every week I'm on my last game etc. Let's clear the air'. I told them what I think of what perhaps need to happen at this club going forward. They listened to that and I'm still in a job."

Pardew confirmed that his contract does cover relegation should the Baggies fail to pull themselves out of trouble.

He said: "When I signed up I genuinely believed we would stay in the Premier League, but I also had a clause in my contract that if it didn't work out and we went into the Championship my contract would cover that."

Pardew, however, has not given up hope of survival.

"Where there is hope, I have to believe that," he said.

West Brom travel to Bournemouth this weekend and Pardew has called on his senior players to take charge of the situation.

"It is about players performing," he said. "We are getting into a period now where the senior players need to deliver, otherwise we are not going to be in with a shout of staying up.

"This weekend and the next couple of weekends, senior players need to deliver and we need to get a win, whichever way it comes."