West Bromwich Albion journalist Joseph Masi has given his views on the situation surrounding Baggies boss Valerien Ismael.
West Brom’s chances of automatic promotion suffered yet another disappointing blow this past weekend as they fell 2-0 away to Millwall – a result which leaves them eight points away from second in the division.
While not an impossible task to overcome, it is certainly a challenging one. The question remains, however, whether or not Ismael – who was only appointed this past summer having done an impressive job at Barnsley last season – will be around to take charge of it.
Recent reports have claimed that the Frenchman is under pressure at The Hawthorns, and speaking on the Express and Star YouTube page following the Millwall defeat, Masi discussed his future and what the club might end up doing.
He said: “He knows that things are not on track, they’re not going to plan.
“He has pointed to the [pandemic], the injuries and things like that as reasons why things haven’t gone to plan.
“In terms of Ismael, he’s vowed to fight on. And the truth is, for the next 24 hours – well, from the minute this video ends – if one of our phones buzzes, we’re gonna be thinking ‘Could it be that?’, because that is the situation we’re in. He may stay, he may not, I honestly don’t know.
“The pressure is on, isn’t it? The longer Val stays, the more in terms of if he doesn’t start winning games, then the pressure is going to go to the board and stuff, and there’s a lot of angry people.”
TIF Thoughts on Joseph Masi’s comments about Valerien Ismael and West Bromwich Albion…
Will Ismael last the season?
Yes
No
It certainly is an interesting scenario that West Brom find themselves in. On one hand, he has managed to get them this far, and it’s not as if their season is a total disaster as there is still a chance that they could go up through the play-offs – meaning sacking Ismael would come across as rather harsh.
The fact he has been allowed to make some signings in January could be a hint that the club still have some faith in him. But how long that faith is going to be there if they keep dropping points is still up in the air. Let’s just hope he isn’t in a position to find out.
In other news: ‘Reading between the lines’ – Masi drops big Sam Johnstone claim after Ismael update at WBA