West Brom captain Wallace, who scored against Bristol City on Saturday, has explained how the first meeting with new owner Shilen Patel went.
Jed Wallace has revealed that Shilen Patel introduced himself to West Bromwich Albion’s squad before their recent draw with Queens Park Rangers by sitting down with them for their pre-match meal – and the first impressions for the players, like the consensus of the fanbase, was a particularly positive one.
Albion’s new owner and chairman Patel, who completed his majority takeover of the club from Guochuan Lai at the end of February, has already attended games against Southampton and QPR and the Floridian intends to return to England in due course with his family to see Albion in action, in the flesh. Patel saw Albion draw 2-2 with QPR in a frantic meeting in London recently, but beforehand he took the opportunity to meet with the squad and break bread.
Captain Wallace, who scored in the Baggies’ 2-0 victory over Bristol City on Saturday, has led the line for Albion in recent weeks in the absence of a natural centre forward, and he appreciated the effort made by Patel to endear himself to Wallace and his teammates as he offered encouragement in their bid to return to the Premier League at the third time of asking.
“He spoke to us before the QPR game and came to introduce himself to the lads – to be honest, it was very motivational what he said to us,” Wallace revealed. “He said we have an opportunity to make the fans really proud this season – and we shouldn’t take that opportunity for granted. It was great to see him, he had a pre-match meal with us.
Things like that go a long way, being around a group of players, and I know he’s keen to come and watch a lot of our games, and that’s the way it should be. From the ground staff upwards, we all feel as though we’re pushing in the right direction.”
Albion, with their comfortable victory over the Robins at The Hawthorns on Saturday, are now especially cemented in the play-off places. They are eight points clear of seventh placed Hull City and, while the Tigers have a game in hand and although manager Carlos Corberan has reiterated that no complacency will be permitted in Albion’s run-in, it’s still a highly desired position they keep.
If you’d told a supporter that, after 38 matches of this campaign, they’d hold such a coveted cushion to the chasing pack, despite the financial insecurities of the time and the disappointment of missing out on the top six on the final day of last season, many would be highly and pleasantly surprised. Albion do, however, possess plenty of ability within their ranks and a man at the helm who is eking the very most out of the group at his disposal.
“We always knew the quality we had here – and the manager we have,” Wallace added. “We’ve done well as a club – we kept the noise to a minimum. There’s not been the negativity around the club because how well the team have done.
“I said from the first day of the season we’ve been united at the training ground – and with the fans. They’ve stayed patient with us, because games now are like a game of chess – it’s not like it was 10 years ago where it’s been bang bang bang, but that’s how the top teams play these days.”
