West Bromwich Albion boss Valerien Ismael has revealed that Sam Johnstone's absence against Preston North End was due to "an issue in the squad" but claimed it is "no excuse" for their poor display. 

Albion's promotion hopes took another hit last night as they were beaten 2-0 by Preston at The Hawthorns with Emil Riis and Aston Villa loanee Cameron Archer finding the net for the visitors.

Despite returning from suspension, Johnstone was not included in the squad with David Button retaining his place in goal.

There has been significant speculation over the 28-year-old's future this month, with West Ham United and Tottenham among the clubs linked with offering him a route back to the Premier League, but Birmingham Live have reported that his absence is not related to transfer speculation.

Speaking after the game, Ismael addressed the situation concerning Johnstone and revealed that he would not return for Saturday's game against Millwall.

He said (via Birmingham Live): "We had a matter, an issue in the squad and have solved the problem.

“He was not in the squad tonight and he will not be in the squad on Saturday but after that he will be involved. It will stay internal.

"As I said it’s no excuse [Johnstone’s omission] for us. We cannot afford to find excuses to drop into victim mood. Dike’s injury. We have no excuses for that performance, we are professional, we meant to put in a performance.

“We have standards we expect to see and tonight we didn’t put in the performances.”

The Verdict

Ismael is right, the England international's absence does not excuse his side's poor performance against Preston but Johnstone is arguably the best goalkeeper in the Championship so it's certainly a blow that Albion will be without him for two more games than expected.

The good news for Baggies fans is that it is understood his absence wasn't linked to transfer speculation but that suggests perhaps there has been an internal disagreement between the keeper and Ismael.

Pressure is mounting on the French coach after a difficult period but even so, it appears he feels keeping Johnstone out of contention for the game at Millwall is a necessity.

Supporters will be hoping that this isn't cracks in the dressing room beginning to show because that's the last thing they need right now.