3 players who will surely be happy with Steve Bruce’s arrival at West Brom

Steve Bruce was appointed West Bromwich Albion manager on Thursday, ending a very short managerial search with the 61-year-old new CEO Ron Gourlay’s only candidate for the top job.

This appointment came after Valerien Ismael’s dismissal earlier in the week, with the Frenchman winning just one of his last eight competitive league matches and overseeing a decline that has taken Albion to within touching distance of dropping out of the play-off zone.

Considering they were automatic promotion favourites earlier on in the campaign, going unbeaten in their opening ten league games of 2021/22, what has happened since has been nothing short of a disaster.

There will be some players that must have been sad to see their former boss leave, including Alex Mowatt and Daryl Dike who thrived under his stewardship at Barnsley last term before taking the duo with him to the West Midlands this season.

But on the opposite end of the scale, there will be those who will be breathing a sigh of relief with a new manager through the door in Bruce.

We have identified just three of those players who will be glad to see the 61-year-old arrive.

Sam Johnstone

Johnstone was thought to have had a falling out with Ismael prior to the latter’s dismissal, with his omission from the starting lineup reported to be the reason for this falling out according to The Athletic’s Steve Madeley.

David Button has done well in the 28-year-old’s absence after the England international was red-carded against Cardiff City – and though he was eventually recalled to the first 11 in his ex-manager’s last match against Millwall – the 46-year-old was clearly a fan of Button and may have started him in the future.

That would have been detrimental for Johnstone and his