Steve Bruce plans 'change' after replacing Valerien Ismael at West Brom

Steve Bruce plans to slowly but surely implement change to the West Bromwich Albion side he is inheriting.

Albion have, for the entirety of this season, played in a very specific way under Valerien Ismael. From game to game, it’s been 3-4-3. The predictability of the situation began to irritate fans after a while.

Substitutions, on or around the hour mark, were always anticipated. A refusal to alter his tactics at any stage, regardless of the score-line of the quality of the performance, irked supporters who wished for flexibility and adaptability.

Ahead of Sheffield United on Wednesday night, there is a fresh debate to be had for fans to discuss in the pubs around the Black Country - how will Bruce line them up? What of the formation?

“They are professional footballers who have been playing football for a long, long, time,” he explained, when asked whether changing things abruptly could be detrimental.

“I have a lot of respect for Valerien Ismael, he is a very good man. He plays a certain way and stays with it, but I do believe you have to have the scope and flexibility to change at times.

“We will be implementing change of course. I’m not going to be implementing huge change, but we will change.”

Of the playing squad, Bruce will be tasked with getting a tune out of a group who were beginning to show signs of real distress in the previous regime.

A number of players had fallen out with Ismael; others didn’t perform well enough when it mattered on any given match-day.

The fractures were starting to appear more regularly in the Albion set-up and it prompted change - that was evident in a big way at this press conference, as Bruce sat alongside new CEO Ron Gourlay and the pair spoke with real enthusiasm and promise for