Key issue highlighted as West Brom boss Valerien Ismael comes under pressure

West Bromwich Albion players are clearly not enjoying their football under Valerien Ismael, according to pundit Jobi McAnuff.

The Baggies crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Millwall on Saturday to pile more pressure on Ismael, who has come under fire for both results and his style of play.

Albion are still fifth in the Championship, but only on goal difference while they sit eight points off the top two.

Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily Podcast, former Watford and Reading winger McAnuff said Ismael has got “big problems” as he fights to hold on to his job amid growing fan unrest.

“The manager has been given the backing [by the board]. For me, they have got top, top players,” said McAnuff.

“The big problem is, he’s not getting the best out of them. You’ve got the likes of Diangana on the bench, Robinson on the bench.

“Whenever I watch West Brom, even at the start of the season when they were winning games, they weren’t playing particularly well.

“I look at players, I look at body language and, for me, the players weren’t enjoying that style of play.

“When you’re winning games, you’ll get on with it, you’ll get your head down.

“But as those results start turning and you go on a poor run, it leads to little whispers, it leads to players going ‘I’m not enjoying the football’.

“When I look at West Brom, that’s what I see, an underperforming group of players.

“He’s got big problems. There’s been talk of a fallout with Sam Johnstone, who’s the best goalkeeper in the league, and now he’s not playing.

“There’s a lot going on inside the camp that is leading to his lack of form.”