Moore has top job in the Bag
RYAN BERTRAND will step up his bid to leave Southampton after blaming their struggles for his failure to make England’s World Cup squad.
The left-back, 28, believes he has gone stale at Saints as they narrowly avoided relegation.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is an admirer, while Newcastle and Wolves are watching him. WEST BROM are set to offer Darren Moore the chance to manage the Baggies full-time.
The club’s Chinese owners are believed to have given their blessing to reward Moore for his efforts in attempting to escape relegation.
The 44-yearold looks to have jumped to the head of the queue to try to rebuild the relegated Albion. Brentford’s Dean Smith also had backing but it is believed Moore’s six-game stint in charge convinced club power brokers he deserves the chance to have a crack at it. Chief executive Mark Jenkins has returned from talks in China and looks set to give Moore the nod.
He sparked an incredible turnaround after taking over from Alan Pardew with Albion rock-bottom. They beat Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham, earning him April’s Premier League manager of the month prize. Senior players, including Chris Brunt and Ben Foster, gave their backing to Moore and the harmony he restored was a major factor in his favour. AFTER almost six weeks Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has finally apologised for his verbal abuse of referee Michael Oliver in their Champions League quarterfinal with Real Madrid. Buffon, left, the subject of a UEFA charge, had said Oliver had a “rubbish bin for a heart”. But yesterday he said: “It is obvious I have transgressed and I am sorry. “But it was a special situation.I couldn’t do anything else but say those things.”