MX23RW : Wednesday, December 18 17:10:25| >> :600:468060:468060:

West Bromwich Albion appoint Valerien Ismael as new head coach

West Brom appoint Valerien Ismael as new head coach
© Reuters
The former Barnsley boss has signed a four-year deal.

West Brom have appointed Valerien Ismael as the club's new head coach.

The 45-year-old has signed a four-year contract at The Hawthorns after Albion agreed a compensation package with Barnsley.

Ismael succeeds Sam Allardyce after he stepped down at the end of last season after failing to keep West Brom in the Premier League.

The Frenchman guided Barnsley to an impressive fifth-placed finish in the Sky Bet Championship last season, after taking over in October 2020 with the club 21st in the table.

The former Crystal Palace defender won 25 of his 44 games in charge before losing to Swansea in the play-offs.

West Brom chief executive Xu Ke was pleased to acquire Ismael's services and is confident the former Nuremberg, Wolfsburg, LASK and Barnsley boss is the right man to lead the club back to the Premier League.

"I am delighted to welcome Valerien to The Hawthorns," he said in a statement on the club website.

"Valerien has established a reputation as an excellent coach and I have been impressed by his professionalism, enthusiasm and hunger to succeed.

"His performance last season with Barnsley, and his coaching career to date, all point to a man who has a long, successful career in front of him. It is my hope that he is with us for at least the next four years.

"I am confident that by working together we will be able to achieve our goal of returning to the Premier League, but success is earned by building on strong foundations, and our plans must now look further into the future. For too long we have focused only on what is immediately in front of us. This means we have often neglected our long-term aspirations.

"We are all aware of what will be required in order to be successful and player recruitment will be of the utmost importance.

"Valerien and I will immediately focus on preparing the squad for the new season, working together with Ian Pearce, our head of recruitment, to secure talented transfer targets who will strengthen us for the challenges ahead, ensuring fans are once more proud to support this great club.

"I am excited to be working with Valerien and I am sure we will soon establish a strong relationship that will be to the benefit of the football club and its supporters."

ID:452596: cacheID:452596:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3509:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael celebrates after the match on March 13, 2021
Read Next:
West Brom 'make approach for Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael'
>
Read more about Valerien Ismael Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe19134243222143
2Birmingham CityBirmingham18133234161842
3Wrexham20125330131741
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield19113530181236
5Stockport CountyStockport2096532211133
6Reading199463028231
7Barnsley208662926330
8Bolton WanderersBolton189362829-130
9Lincoln CityLincoln207762625128
10Blackpool197572931-226
11Mansfield TownMansfield187472222025
12Stevenage187471517-225
13Peterborough UnitedPeterborough197393735224
14Charlton AthleticCharlton196671819-124
15Exeter CityExeter197391721-424
16Wigan AthleticWigan196581716123
17Rotherham UnitedRotherham186571920-123
18Leyton Orient196491920-122
19Northampton TownNorthampton205692129-821
20Bristol Rovers1963101728-1121
21Crawley TownCrawley1954102032-1219
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge1945102031-1117
23Burton Albion1926111630-1412
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1932141939-2011


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!