Valerien Ismael discusses West Brom boo boys against Middlesbrough
Valerien Ismael believes that West Brom fans are entitled to react in any way they want to after his side were booed on Saturday.
With the Baggies trailing 1-0 to Boro at half-time, some West Brom fans expressed their frustration with what they had seen and booed the side off.
Ismael believes that his side were “punished” for a poor first half, and he didn’t call out the fans.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, the Frenchman said: “We put the performance on the pitch, and our fans react to our performance – it’s as simple as that.
“If we put in the right performance, they will support us.
“If we don’t put in the right performance, we will be punished, and we need to understand that. We decide what is happening on the pitch.
“The players need to control their thoughts and stay focused on the game plan, but since I am here, every time we put in a performance, we score an early goal; there is always a good atmosphere inside the stadium.”
Fair reflection
Ultimately, the Baggies are sitting in third, heading into the international break.
However, there have been many occasions already in which they have failed to break down the opposition, and some of the fans have had enough.
On Saturday, the first half was pretty turgid, and in the end, a 1-1 draw with Boro at home isn’t going to be enough to keep pressure on the top two.
There have been several results like that over the course of the season, and it appears as if it all just got a bit too much for some at the weekend.
The Baggies fans have every right to express their displeasure with what they are seeing on the pitch.
However, this is a fair message from Ismael, and in public, at least, he has put most of the pressure on the players and not the fans, which should go down well.
In other West Brom news, Ismael has provided a new transfer update ahead of the January window.
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