Striker Ishmael Miller today branded Albion’s boo-boys “disgusting” as he leapt to the defence of friend and team mate Luke Moore.

Miller hit out at the section of fans who booed Moore when he stepped off the substitutes’ bench to against Preston on Saturday.

Miller, who made way for Moore on 72 minutes, was upset at the treatment meted out to one of his closest friends in the dressing room.

“I know it was only a minority but I thought it was disgusting,” said Miller. “That’s one of my team-mates. It was Luke but it could have been anyone.

“He’s my team mate and we go out to fight in every single game and give our all for the cause.

“He’s done a lot this season and played a lot of games. It wasn’t nice at all.”

The boos from a section of the Smethwick End drew an immediate response from the majority of Baggies fans, who sang the striker’s name for the remainder of the match.

And Miller hopes that response will spur on his fellow forward, although he insisted Moore has nothing to prove to his team mates.

“Hopefully he will want to prove a point to them but he doesn’t need to prove a point to the players,” said Miller. “We know what he’s capable of.

“You don’t like to see those kind of things anywhere in the game, especially to a player for your team.

“We train day in, day out with each other and we have a great bond with the whole squad and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in.

“It’s not because one or two people doing well or even three or four, it’s because everybody has played their part during the season.”

Miller admitted Moore’s laid-back style might have harmed his reputation with fans, but he urged spectators to lay off his friend, and he insisted the squad had not dwelled on the incident.

“I’m a laid back person, just like Luke is,” he said. “You can have whatever perception you want of people but you don’t do that to people who play for this club or for any club.

“Luke’s been fine. Nobody has mentioned it in training because it was only a minority and we dismiss those things. With those sort of people there no point talking about it.”