West Brom boss Tony Pulis seems resigned to his fate as he stands on the brink of the sack

The Baggies boss seemed resigned to his fate after today's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea and gave what sounded like a farewell speech to the press after the game.

Although there is no announcement due this evening, owner Guochuan Lai and chairman John Williams are expected to discuss the matter over the weekend.

Pulis said the decision was out of his hands, but he showed little fight to keep his job and spoke like a dead man walking at times.

Williams met him in the changing room after the match. Pulis refused to go into detail about what was said between the pair, but called the chairman a 'good man'.

The head coach is planning to return to his home Bournemouth tonight to see friends, and it's understood that his likely sacking will not be confirmed tonight, and may not even be announced over the weekend.

However, Pulis does appear to be on the brink of the sack following a lacklustre defeat at the hands of the champions.

There were calls for his head from the home crowd, who watched their team slip to an 11th game without a win and their fourth straight defeat.

Lai was in attendance, and witnessed first hand the apathy and anger of the Albion faithful.

"The big thing is this is not about me, it’s not about the chairman, the owners or anything else," said Pulis. "It’s about the football club and what is the right decision for the football club. That’s the important thing.

"This club will be here way past when you go and I go and the lot. So it’s about doing the right thing for the football club."

When Pulis was asked if the right thing for the club was relieving him of his duties, he responded: "I’ve been in the game long enough to know if you get bad runs that’s what happens. But they have to make a decision. I met with the Chinese owners last night.

"They are wonderful people but I know as much as anyone you have to get results. That’s what it’s about."

And Pulis was non-committal when he was asked if he wanted to stay on as head coach, suggesting that a split might be the best thing for everyone.

"As I’ve just said the important thing is that the decision that’s made is the right decision for the football club," he said. "That’s not going to be my decision, it’s obviously the owners'."

Williams had initially planned to give Pulis until Christmas to turn around the form, but the toxic scenes in the home end today coupled with the number of empty seats is likely to force his hand.

Pulis, however, has great respect for his chairman, who has refused to hide from his under-pressure head coach.

"John came into the dressing room as he always does," said Pulis, who was then asked if he gave him any reassurances. "No, what me and John spoke about is private, he's a good man."

When Pulis was asked if he thought he was staying, he responded: "It's not my decision. We'll have to see what happens."

Pulis met with Lai and Williams on Friday night ahead of the game and the head coach felt he had let the Chinese owners down.

"Mr Lai and (board director) Mr (Piyue) Li are really good people," he said. "I'm disappointed that we haven't got the results we were hoping for for them as much as anyone else because they are decent people."

But when he was asked if he was meeting with the board again on Saturday night, he said: "No I’m going straight off to Bournemouth. I’ve got people from Bristol who I’ve not seen in ages coming down so I’ll have a few drinks with them."

There was a mixture of apathy and anger from the Albion fans today. Some decided to leave when the fourth Chelsea goal went in on the hour mark, while others decided to stay and make their feelings heard. Pulis, though, realises how poor the run has been and thanked them for taking it easy.

"I actually thought the supporters were really good today," he said. "I’ve been at clubs where the whole place would have taken off."

Albion actually started brightly before Chelsea rushed in three first goals from Alvaro Morata, Eden Hazard, and Marcos Alonso.

Hazard added a fourth on the hour mark and Pulis was disappointed with all four but refused to criticise the effort of his players.

"When you play against a top team like Chelsea you have to defend better," he said. "It’s not just the first one, it’s the second, third and fourth one. If you look at them again, they’re all goals we shouldn’t be conceding.

"People will say the second goal was a great goal but actually it was a poor goal from us.

"The third goal, someone doesn't pick him up. That's what happens when you're on a bad run.

"I was pleased with the players, I thought their attitude was great today.

"I'm disappointed in the way certain individuals have defended, they can do better than that, but I'll take it on the chin."

He now seems destined for the exit door but when he was asked if he was interested in the vacant Wales job, he said: "No, I’m too young for the Wales job."