Richard Sneekes believes West Brom are on a different trajectory this season, even after the Baggies dropped points to Middlesbrough in a defeat that stung supporters still hoping to build on a promising August.

Sneekes points to a bigger picture

The former West Brom midfielder, speaking to BBC Radio WM reporter Steve Hermon, refused to allow one result to overshadow what he sees as a genuine shift in the club's direction. "We're changing the narrative of Albion," Sneekes said, framing the Middlesbrough loss as a setback rather than a signal.

It is the kind of language that lands differently when it comes from someone who wore the shirt. Sneekes spent five years at The Hawthorns and knows better than most how quickly momentum can turn in the Championship, where the gap between a run of wins and a losing streak can be a single tight game going the wrong way.

A defeat that arrives at a testing moment

The loss to Middlesbrough adds pressure to a West Brom squad that arrived at the end of August with reasons for optimism. The club had already secured three Championship points against Burnley, with Daryl Morrison among those who had been in positive form. That form made the Middlesbrough reverse all the harder to absorb.

Middlesbrough, for their part, collected a result that strengthens their own early-season position. Sam Byram, who joined on a free transfer this summer, has been part of a Boro side beginning to impose itself on the second tier.

For West Brom, the squad assembled over the summer, including winger Kareem Tunde from Levante, now faces the task of proving that the August brightness Sneekes references can hold across a full 46-game campaign.

What the result actually changes

A single home defeat does not unravel a season in the Championship, but it does sharpen the focus on what comes next. The division punishes inconsistency faster than anywhere else in the Football League: a side can move from the fringes of the top six to mid-table in the space of a week if fixtures fall awkwardly.

West Brom's challenge now is to ensure the Middlesbrough loss becomes a footnote rather than a turning point. The squad has the tools, according to Sneekes, and the coaching staff have shown in recent weeks that they can organise a side capable of putting three goals past a Burnley team with its own ambitions.

Whether the Baggies can sustain that level through the autumn is the question the rest of the Championship will be watching. Sneekes, for one, is convinced the answer is yes. The supporters at The Hawthorns will need a response on the pitch before they fully share that belief.

Keeping perspective

The Championship has a habit of humbling clubs that declare a new era too loudly, but it also rewards those that quietly keep building while rivals around them wobble. If West Brom are genuinely changing their narrative, as Sneekes insists, the games that arrive in September and October will tell that story far more clearly than any one result in late August.

For now, the Baggies dust themselves down, assess what went wrong against a Middlesbrough side that took its chance, and look to the next fixture as the only meaningful place to begin writing that new chapter.

Frequently asked

Why did West Brom lose to Middlesbrough?
The source does not detail the specific reasons, but Baggies legend Richard Sneekes reacted to the defeat by insisting West Brom are still moving in the right direction overall, speaking to BBC Radio WM alongside reporter Steve Hermon.
What did Richard Sneekes say about West Brom's season?
Sneekes said West Brom are changing the narrative of the club, urging fans not to read too much into the Middlesbrough defeat and pointing to the broader progress the Baggies have made this season.
Where do West Brom stand in the Championship after losing to Middlesbrough?
West Brom entered the Middlesbrough game having beaten Burnley 3-1 earlier in August, but this defeat adds pressure as the division's early standings begin to take shape.