Boss: We could do no Moore with Luke
Saturday 27th November 2010, 11:29AM GMT.
Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo today insisted he could have done no more to help misfit Luke Moore succeed at The Hawthorns.
The former Villa striker’s Baggies career looks to be over with the club unlikely to get a return on their £3.5m investment after he extended his loan at Derby this week.
But head coach Di Matteo believes he did everything he could to help kick-start Moore’s career by giving the forward a fresh start when he took over from Tony Mowbray.
“I gave Luke a year,” said Di Matteo. “We worked with him and he probably had one of his best seasons with us.
“He scored four goals in 20 league appearances and probably had a total of 26 appearances last year.
“But it’s down to him whether he has the desire to make it happen. He is a nice guy, he’s a lovely boy, but you have to assess people on their performances.”
Moore’s Albion career failed to take off following his big-money switch from Villa Park in May 2008.
And, with his contract due to expire at the end of this season, he appears unlikely to figure again for the Baggies and could even extend his loan at Pride Park for the remainder of the current campaign.
And Di Matteo believes Moore might simply have joined the wrong club at the wrong time.
“I have seen that many times in my career,” said the Italian. “Maybe you are not happy about something and then you change club and do well.
“Maybe you leave your wife and family and the whole environment is different and it doesn’t work. Then you can go to another club and blossom.
“I can’t comment on what happened before I took over but I gave everybody a clean sheet when I came here.
“Even with Roman Bednar, after all his problems, we helped him out and gave him a new start and a new life at this club. So I don’t have any prejudice in that sense but you have to take your chance and show that you want it.
“At the end of the day, it’s about performing and winning football matches.”
UK Sport
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Could have been a star but had too big a chip on his shoulder and thought he’d cracked it big time.
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