West Brom manager Valerien Ismael ‘agrees with boos’ following 2-0 defeat to Preston

Ismael was on the receiving end of more criticism from the Baggies faithful on Wednesday evening

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West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael sided with the fans following the Preston North End: A relegation fodder performance from the promotion hopefuls ">Baggies 2-0 loss to Preston North End claiming that he ‘agrees with all the boos’ after a dismal display at the Hawthorns.

Albion failed to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes and their lack of creativity and fight ultimately saw them losing their unbeaten home record.

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Valerien Ismael, Manager of West Bromwich Albion looks on before the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End at The HawthornsValerien Ismael, Manager of West Bromwich Albion looks on before the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End at The Hawthorns
Valerien Ismael, Manager of West Bromwich Albion looks on before the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End at The Hawthorns

Speaking to BBC Radio WM after the game, Ismael says his side got exactly what the performance merited.

We deserve all the criticism for that,” the manager explained.

“It was a poor team performance. I agree with all the boos.

“We have no excuses. We were never in the game. We deserved to lose. When you put in a performance like that, you have to accept it.

“We didn’t put in the energy or effort to win that game.”

First choice goalkeeper and England international Sam Johnstone was not involved in the squad despite serving the final game of his suspension against Peterborough United last time out.

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Johnstone’s exclusion from the team set the rumour-mill going but Ismael explained in his post-match press conference that it was an internal disciplinary issue.

“We had an issue internally,” the boss stated.

“It is solved now but that is the reason he wasn’t in the squad and won’t be on Saturday, but after that he will be back.”

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