Luke Moore has no idea how he would react to scoring at Villa but the Albion striker is sure of one thing – he is desperate to find out.

Moore heads back to his roots for an emotional reunion with the club he called home for more than a decade. Yet, as he looked ahead to the West Midlands derby, he was keen to play down his Villa past and focus on his Albion future.

That, he hopes, includes putting one over on his old employers with a goal. Celebrating is one thorny issue he hopes to be faced with.

He said: “I’ll let you know. You never know if you are going to celebrate. But I would like to find out. If it happens I won’t be trying to rub it in anyone’s faces, I know that.

“But I want to go there and win, it’s as simple as that. Every time a player plays a game he wants to win and it’s no different for me. It’s a big game and the local people know what it’s a all about. I’m local and I know what it’s all about.

“Both sides want to win and I am playing for West Brom. We are in a fight the same way Villa are at the other end of the table. We are fighting for our lives and we’re going to go there and try to be positive and get a result.”

Birmingham-born Moore followed in the footsteps of big brother Stefan by signing for Villa as a schoolboy. Then the attacking siblings played together as Villa won the FA Youth Cup in 2002.

While Stefan fell by the wayside, Luke remained the club’s most prized young asset and played 84 times in the first team, threatening several times to establish his credentials as a Premier League threat.

But, after a positive start to Martin O’Neill’s Villa reign, a shoulder injury sidelined the young Moore. He never regained his place and he moved in February to Albion, who paid £3million in the summer to make the transfer permanent.

The derby sees his first competitive return to his long-time base and Moore is relishing the occasion. But despite a deep-seated affection for all things claret and blue, Moore insists there will be no question of mixed loyalties in the lunchtime clash.

He said: “Any ex-player of any clubs looks forward to the first time they go back. I fully intend to enjoy the occasion but we have been on a good run and we are going there to continue that.

“Everyone knows that I am deep-rooted into Villa but I am at West Brom now and that is the most important thing.”

Moore is adamant he has no regrets about his decision to cut ties with Villa and move to the Hawthorns to kick-start his career.

He said: “You get players that settle on the bench. I always felt involved at Villa, because I knew when Martin O’Neill looked at his bench I was the first one he would call out.
“I felt involved in that sense but you have to ask yourself if you want more.

“There are players who would just sit on the bench and might do that for the rest of their career. But I asked myself if I wanted more and that was basically the reason I moved.”

Moore keeps a close eye on the Villa’s progress under manager O’Neill and chairman Randy Lerner. He has been impressed with their continued progress since his departure less than a year ago.

He said: “They have been very good this season. Randy Lerner is probably the best thing that has ever happened to the club and they have got a good manager there.

“The foundations are set and any Villa fan will tell you it’s pleasing to see the club pushing forward. I am grateful to have worked under Martin O’Neill. He is a unique character and a unique manager.

“Him and the chairman have got the club looking forward again and I think he is a great manager.”

While Lerner and O’Neill continue their Villa revolution, Moore has his own more modest ambition to build on his recent strides at the Hawthorns.

Having struggled to get into the side, Moore has started four of the last five games after the season-ending injury to Ishmael Miller.

He got off the mark during that time with his first Albion goal in the home win over Manchester City. Now he feels he is finally feeling at home after a difficult first year away from Villa Park.

He said: “Every player will tell you they just want to contribute. People talk about you earning this much and that much, but I can tell you there are a lot of miserable players that aren’t playing.

“You just want to contribute so you can go home happy, feeling like you are actually doing something.

“I feel settled now. You have to get used to new things and it did take a while to feel comfortable but I feel comfortable now. Hopefully that will be reflected on the pitch.”