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Moore dressing room bust-ups happen says Darren

Albion hero Darren Moore insists the Baggies' latest dressing-room bust-up will not damage their hopes of staying in the Premier League as they head for Norwich tomorrow.

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Striker Saido Berahino was left with a minor head wound after an angry physical altercation with James Morrison following the 3-3 draw with Cardiff at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

And that sparked speculation about Berahino's long-term Hawthorns future and suggestions of legal action against Morrison – a claim that the young striker later dismissed via a club statement.

But former centre-back Moore, who was in the Baggies squad when fellow defender Thomas Gaardsoe was involved in a scuffle on the team coach, insisted behind-the-scenes fall-outs need not derail a team's progress.

Gaardsoe clashed with a member of Gary Megson's backroom staff after a row on the coach outside Anfield early in the 2004-05 season that ended with the 'Great Escape'.

And Moore insisted bust-ups are normally forgotten quickly.

"They do happen more often than you would think because people lose their tempers in pressurised situations," he said.

"I don't know what has happened in this case, but it wouldn't surprise me if the players involved have already had a chat and sorted things out. That's what usually happens and it doesn't normally have a long-term effect on the team.

"I don't think I ever punched a team-mate – I think I was always too big for people to get on the wrong side of me.

"But I remember the incident with Thomas and that all blew over and we went on to stay up that season.

"And I remember an incident at Norwich when I think we had conceded a goal and I walked off the pitch and put my foot through a door.

"That was totally out of character for me but sometimes that's how the emotion affects you straight after a game."

Berahino looks set to take his place in the Baggies squad at Norwich despite being unhappy in the immediate aftermath of the incident with a lack of action against other players.

Albion are facing a tense battle to avoid the drop into the Championship but Moore said: "At the moment they are not in the bottom three and they have enough winnable games to stay up, so it is important that we all stay positive."

The Berahino incident lifted the lid on divisions between the longer-standing players in the Baggies dressing room and the newer breed, including academy graduate Berahino. But defender Jonas Olsson, who will return from a two-match suspension to skipper the side at Carrow Road, believes the influence of the experienced figures in the dressing room will be crucial.

"Hopefully I can play my part as captain on the day, although I don't think it's so much about who is wearing the armband," said Olsson.

"It's important to have big characters on the field. I think we have in GMac (Gareth McAuley), Reidy (Steven Reid) and Liam Ridgewell.

"It's important to have them all over the pitch and I don't think it's that important who is wearing the armband."

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