Steve Bruce struggled to endear himself to West Bromwich Albion supporters in the final few months of 2021/22, despite replacing the unpopular Valerien Ismael in the dugout.

West Brom did not immediately seem like a club, and a supporter base, that would be too concerned about style of play after suffering relegation to the Championship in 2020/21, however Ismael's direct approach received very little patience when the Baggies began to slip away from the automatic promotion race last season.

Bruce could not arrest that slide and the club were left with a decision to make on whether to stick with the former Sunderland boss for the 2022/23 campaign.

They have put their faith in Bruce this summer, but the relationship with the supporters is still a work in progress.

When asked if supporters will turn quickly should the Baggies not fly out of the blocks this season, Carlton Palmer said: "It's difficult for Steve, it was a difficult position that he took over.

"Ismael had a flying start, but he didn't have a goalscorer and he would've liked to bring one in before, I think West Brom were hoping to get to Christmas and then make a marquee signing.

"They created an awful lot of chances but didn't score goals, if he'd (Ismael) had a goalscorer he probably would have got them promoted.

"The problem Steve had was sorting the squad out, it's taken him time unfortunately, people thought Steve would have an immediate impact and that they would've gone straight up.

 

 

"The squad is not good enough, that's not Steve's fault, but he understands the fans, he's a very experienced manager, he understands he's in a results-based industry and what the fans expect.

"The one thing he can't afford to do is get off to a bad start, because the fans will turn against him.

"I don't think they're totally convinced by him, so it's up to him to convince them that he's the man for the job.

"I believe he is."