THERE’S MOORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM
Jay-Rod tips boss to lead the Baggies back into the big time
JAY RODRIGUEZ is convinced Darren Moore is the man to lead West Brom back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
As a player, Moore was a hero of the Baggies faithful after twice bouncing them into the top flight – either side of similar promotions with Bradford and Derby.
And following a seamless transition to manager, his side sit on top of the table after he masterminded a thrilling victory at struggling Preston – their fifth win in six Championship games.
Jay-Rod revealed Moore’s experience and manmanagement skills are the secret behind their earlyseason success.
He said: “It is brilliant to watch him grow into the management role.
“Darren Moore is the gaffer now and everyone respects him both as a person and as a manager.
“He is well-respected and the lads have taken to him because he is honest.
“He wants what we all want – and that is to win games and improve.
“We all know the history of what he has done and that comes through in all the little things that he says and where he is coming from. The gaffer is very honest and it is a really good relationship between him and the players – and that is a positive thing.”
That positivity was clear as his words at half-time inspired West Brom.
The highest scorers in the division took an early lead through Rodriguez against the leakiest defence.
Preston clawed one back through an Andrew Hughes free-kick on 71 minutes, but a Ben Davies own goal and a stunning set-piece from the outstanding Dwight Gayle sealed the points.
A very late strike from Alan Browne gave Alex Neil’s men hope but Preston were left propping up the table with their players frustrated at losing another game despite giving their all.
Hughes said: “There are no easy games in this league but performance-wise that’s two really good back-toback performances.
“If we play like that again today against other teams, we will come out with a positive result.
“The quicker we can turn this around, the quicker we can get out of there.
“We don’t know when to give up at times and it’s just frustrating that we can’t get the results.
“We need to get results and we need to get them quickly.
“There’s always areas you can work on as a team and we all need to pull together.
“It’s a bit early to call it a relegation battle, everybody is together and right behind the manager and everyone is supporting everyone.
“We’ve just been really unlucky not to get results.”