Moore aiming to deliver promise

Luke Moore has come to Albion to deliver on the promise of what Villa legend Gordon Cowans once labelled “a natural talent that is the best I have worked with.”

European Cup winner and former England midfielder Cowans made that assessment when Moore was a 16-year-old prodigy making his way through Villa’s Academy.

But, at 22, the football world is still waiting for this homegrown talent to truly fulfil his potential on the pitch.

Albion boss Tony Mowbray believes he can give Moore the platform that was not always available at his Premiership neighbours and the player himself hopes to show against Plymouth tomorrow why the Baggies boss was happy to add even more firepower to the country’s top scorers.

“I hope I can deliver,” says Moore. “But it’s not up to me to make comparisons. I just get on with my job.

“It’s up to the media to do the talking and I just get on with it. I got into football to play football and this is just part of the job you have to do. I’m sure if I’m enjoying my football, good things will come.

“I learned very early about not taking too much notice about what’s written about me. I think if I’m enjoying my football you’ll see the best of me – simple as that.

“I want to enjoy things and I want to help the lads. They’ve worked hard and we need a big push until the end of the season.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first week. The training has been good and varied.I’ve got nothing but good things to say about this place and I’m optimistic about the future.

“I just want to play football. It’s a short career and realistically you don’t want to spend it sitting on the bench.

“Anyone who has got a bit about them wants to play and I’m no different to that.”

Mowbray’s eagerness to recruit the England Under-21 regular is understandable.

The Albion boss loves his strikers to be able to come in from wide positions and pose a threat at goal and that is a Moore speciality.

Arguably his most exciting spell for Villa came in O’Neill’s first months at the club when he and Gabrial Agbonlahor were used as wide-raiding players.

A shoulder injury brought that to a halt after which Moore has struggled to regain the momentum which was propelling his career at that stage.

Moore briefly consulted ex-Albion defender Curtis Davies about the lure of a move to The Hawthorns and despite the centre-half’s bitter parting, there was nothing but a glowing testimony.

But then Moore is very much his own man who has little or no interest in the hype machine which envelopes the game these days.

And he does not believe that he has anything to prove to the man who ultimately has told him he is not good enough for Villa’s plans, Martin O’Neill.

“I’ve got nothing to prove to him,” says Moore. “I know he knew how good I was.

“I spoke to Curtis Davies in passing and he said it was a good place to come and play football. That’s what I’m here to do.”