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Blackburn Rovers have been busy in the transfer window this summer as they look to improve upon their campaign last year.
Rovers narrowly missed out on the Championship play-offs on the final day, as they drew with Sheffield United, meaning they did not qualify for the post-season phase.
Valerien Ismael is doing all he can to get his team prepared for next weekend’s fixtures; however, there is still more work to be done ahead of the Championship campaign.
Ryan Alebiosu is praising the coaching and tactics of Ismael and seems to be enjoying life at Ewood Park since signing for the club this summer.
Blackburn have lost some key players, as Tyrhys Dolan has signed for Espanyol, while Andreas Weimann joined Derby County.
Ismael has explained the next steps for Blackburn now as the start of the Championship season approaches.
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Ismael is looking to get his principles across to the players
Valerien Ismael has spoken to the Lancashire Telegraph ahead of the upcoming Championship season, with their opening game being against West Brom.
He is aiming to get a clear message across to the players about how he wants them to play, building on last season and the positive form right at the end.
Ismael said: “We are building from what we created from the end of last season; we are not starting from scratch.
“We’re trying to put the next blocks in place, teach the new players our principles, and you can see how we want to play. The intensity, the pressing, and the players have done what we’ve asked them.
“The Academy players, too, have shown what they can do and how they can help the team. That is what we must learn from this pre-season, and then we can make clear decisions.”
Ismael on his approach to team selection for Blackburn
The Rovers manager has put in some work this summer to assemble a team he is happy with ahead of the new Championship season, as players joined and left, with Callum Brittain looking likely to leave.
Ismael seems ok with that, as he expects everyone in the squad to be fighting for positions, as he told the Lancashire Telegraph.
He said: “No, there is always competition for positions. It is not about the starting XI but about the group of 25 players that we want to build.
“Those guys will be going to war in the Championship, and we will need everyone.
“Everyone is ready, and we will need everyone. It doesn’t mean that the XI we play with in our first game will be the standard XI. We will have to rotate.”