Valerien Ismael pleased to play on at West Brom - though Preston in doubt
Albion boss Valerien Ismael is pleased football has decided to play on despite ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.
But while the Baggies look set to still face Derby on Monday, their clash against Preston on Thursday is likely to be called off according to North End manager Ryan Lowe.
Football has been rocked by coronavirus over the past few weeks with numerous games in the Premier League and EFL having to be postponed.
Albion suffered an outbreak earlier this month with defenders Cedric Kipre, Semi Ajayi, Matt Clarke and Conor Townsend all posting positive test results. But they still fulfilled their fixture against Reading – a match they won 1-0.
Earlier this week, the Premier League and the EFL both discussed pausing the season in a bid to get the virus under control. In the end, though, both bodies opted to play on. And Ismael says he would rather play games if it is safe to do so rather than have a fixture backlog later in the season.
“It’s a tricky one with the postponed games because if you see the schedule in February and March, it’ll be a very, very, tough period,” the Frenchman said.
“And if now you get two or three postponed games, in January you’ll play every three days, and then February and March so I am satisfied that we can play.
“It is something I can’t influence.
“But the good thing is we’re in a rhythm so as long as we can play we can influence our training sessions and our performances in the game.”
While Ismael is pleased Albion have managed to fulfil recent fixtures, the boss admits Covid is making it harder to prepare for games.
“Two weeks ago it was very difficult because everyday there was a positive case, or bad news, or a player had a cold and you never know if it’s Covid,” the 46-year-old continued.
“But now we feel the rhythm has changed and the momentum has swapped for us.
“We have got players back so it’s easier to plan.
“But I have to say every morning, we have daily testing, and I’m just waiting until all the players are in and have had a negative test before I plan for the training session.
“For the first two days the focus is on ‘out of possession.’
“And the two days before the game it’s more ‘in possession’.
“After that, for sure, we need player numbers to train properly.
“But we remain really flexible so that we might only work on the defensive department, or the midfield unit or the front three if we have less players.
“It all depends on the numbers.
“Two weeks ago almost all our defenders were out so the focus was solely on the front boys, so we do depend on that.”
North End have postponed their Boxing Day clash with Sheffield United due to having a ‘significant number’ of positive Covid-19 cases within their camp.
And manager Lowe feels it’s unlikely his side will be heading to The Hawthorns on December 30.
“At the moment I must say it is very unlikely, considering what we’ve got and what has happened,” he said.
“I am that baffled myself with the protocols and what days people are due back.
“The training ground, we have already told everyone to shut up shop and get away – take it day by day.
“But to be dead honest with you, with what we’ve got, it is highly unlikely – we’ll be governed by the EFL and the doctor, we will see what day they feel we should be back.”
