Valerien Ismael: West Brom pressing game a long-term process

The Frenchman has masterminded Albion’s impressive start to the season which has seen them take 10 points from their opening four Championship matches.

Those points have been achieved in some style with the Baggies excelling by playing Ismael’s high-intensity, high energy, brand of football.

It’s a philosophy very unique to the former Bayern Munich man who is adamant – with the right fitness regime – his players can press from the first whistle to the last.

But the former Barnsley boss revealed it’s taken him the best part of a decade to finally discover a formula that allows him to play the way he wants.

“It’s been a long journey,” Ismael said when asked what has shaped his philosophy.

“I’ve now been a manager for 10 years. At the beginning it is always the same, failure, rejection, negativity from outside. You just need to improve all the time.

“My first thing was always that I wanted to press, I want to press for 90 minutes.

“But every time, at the beginning, the intensity of the team always dropped down after one hour.

“I tried to understand why and I found a solution. The training method was one – so I changed the training method.

“And then I changed the shape, different things, to find the right solution.

“The sports science department – the staff there – we needed to work closely together.

“It was a journey for sure to find that breakthrough to get everything going in the same direction.

“But my time at LASK in Austria gave me the confidence and drive to see that I’m on the right way.

“Then Barnsley last year, and now West Brom to give me that confidence.

“But it’s been a long journey, 10-years. It’s been difficult.”

Ismael says when you truly believe in something you have to keep going, even if you are hit with set-backs.

“It’s so important to stay true to yourself – if you believe in something just go through and keep going,” he continued.

“And then, eventually, you will get the breakthrough.

“It might not be easy, some of my career choices in the past might not look great.

“But at the end of the day ,it’s about the result.

“And the result now is that I believe so much in my way to play.

“What you need in modern football is intensity, is courage, the verticality to play.

“You have to think about the short time you have to hit the opponent when they are not organised.

“You need to be fast, to be vertical in some situations.

“That is my way, my philosophy. You have other philosophies, possession-based teams. But my way is clear, out of possession with that intensity.”