Michael Appleton doesn't regret Albion exit

Former West Brom favourite Michael Appleton returns to the Hawthorns as Oxford United manager tonight insisting he has no regrets about leaving.

Appleton left his coaching role at Albion in 2011 to become Portsmouth manager and has since endured ill-fated spells at Fratton Park, Blackpool and Blackburn before taking over at Oxford this summer.

But despite his turbulent career since leaving The Hawthorns, the ex-Baggies midfielder, whose side visit in the second round of the Capital One Cup this evening, believes he left at the right time.

He said: "You can always look back with hindsight and ask whether you could have made a different decision but at the time it seemed like the right one, so I wouldn't change it just because of how things worked out.

"I don't think many people at the time would have predicted what was going to happen at Portsmouth and in football you sometimes have to take chances because they might not come again.

"I have certainly made bigger mistakes since with a couple of moves than I did when I left Albion for Portsmouth, that's for sure!

"So I definitely have no regrets. I made the decision that was right at the time, and even though my life has been turbulent since I left, it hasn't been a bed of roses at Albion either.

"I am looking forward to the challenge at Oxford now and I am glad Albion stayed up last season. I am looking forward to this game."

Appleton's playing career was ended prematurely at The Hawthorns by a serious knee injury, meaning an early switch to coaching that saw him rise through the ranks and become assistant to Roy Hodgson at Albion before leaving for Pompey.

And despite losing the first three games of the League Two season, he is optimistic about his prospects with the Us.

He said: "People might look at the results and think we're in a bad way, but anyone who has seen the games will tell you that's not the case."