Darnell Furlong: West Brom ‘bought into boss’s philosophy from day one’

The Baggies have opened their Championship campaign with eye-catching displays against both Bournemouth and Luton.

Pressing relentlessly and playing with a high defensive line, Ismael got to work installing his ‘Val-ball’ philosophy from the moment he was appointed head coach.

And Furlong revealed all Albion’s players have been impressed with the Frenchman and how he wants the team to perform.

“The gaffer has definitely lived up to my expectations since he’s come in,” Furlong said.

“Once you hear about who is coming in, you take an interest in where he has been recently and we didn’t have to look too deeply into what the playing style was.

“The gaffer came across well and what all the players liked was how clear he was.

“It wasn’t a case of there being some grey areas, or you can do this or that – it was all set out well.

“Even during the off-season, before we had come back, we all had phone calls with him to get that first contact and touch base.

“From then on, I was very clear on what was needed and expected from me in my position.

“Once you have a conversation with Val, you’re excited to come back in and get working.”

Ismael’s high intensity style of play guided Barnsley into the Championship play-offs last season.

Albion have shown they have adapted to it quickly with the Baggies building on an impressive performance at Bournemouth by beating Luton in a thrilling Championship clash at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

But despite those positive displays, Furlong insists there is more to come from the team.

“It’s a very dominant and aggressive way of playing which is nice to be a part of and I’m very interested to see how it goes,” the wing-back continued.

“A lot of people were talking about Barnsley last season and you wonder whether it’s going to be the same format for us, which, so, far, it has been. It’s just been about trying to learn and implement it.

“Football’s a game of risks and you don’t want to be too risky, but at the same time you need to in order to commit bodies forward to score goals and win games.

“Everyone is looking forward to seeing where the manager’s style can take us.

“We have to be really fit to play the system and I feel we have achieved that.”

Furlong says the aim for Albion this season is to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

And he says the clubs fans will be key if they are to be successful.

“Everyone’s goal in this squad is to get back to the Premier League and we’ll be pulling in the same direction to do it,” Furlong added.

“We need the supporters to be able to achieve that.

“There is no denying how much football as a whole and us as a team missed the fans.

“It was such a shame the year we got to the Premier League we couldn’t have them with us.

“Hopefully we can make this season a positive one and make up for lost time.”