Darren Moore insists he has no problems with West Brom hierarchy
Darren Moore insists he is not at loggerheads with Albion’s hierarchy despite suggestions of a disagreement over Gareth McAuley’s release.
McAuley claimed in a recent interview with The Times that Albion’s head coach was keen to offer him a new contract this summer but the club released the 38-year-old over fears of his age.
The Express & Star understands former technical consultant Giuliano Terraneo expressed concerns about the defender’s age while Moore was initially open to keeping him.
The Baggies boss subsequently decided to build a team suitable for a back three, and is pleased that he’s lowered the average age of his backline.
Terraneo has since been removed from the club, and Moore insists he has no issue with the current board.
“Everything we do here is an absolute joint decision at the club,” he said. “There's nothing untoward.
“I'm happy and open and transparent with everybody, my bosses, and the board.”
When he was asked to explain why McAuley was released, he said: “We had a chat in the summer, it was in the best interests that he went out on a free transfer. He's moved on.
“There's been other players that have become available. We had targets and we brought Kyle Bartley in, we got young Tosin (Adarabioyo) in and we kept (Craig) Dawson and (Ahmed) Hegazi.
“The average age of the back four has come down. It was one of them, it's at the end of the season, players have become available and we've selected them.
“Gareth's been an excellent player for West Brom, he's served the club admirably over the last eight seasons. We owe a great gratitude for that, but we've moved on.
“We see the team developing in a different way and hopefully will continue to see that.”
Albion also released Claudio Yacob and Boaz Myhill at the same time, but have since re-signed the goalkeeper following Terraneo’s departure.
“Boaz is back and doing really well,” said Moore. “He performed well the other night (against Mansfield). He's shown his experience. I’m delighted to have Bo back.
“We're trying to move the club in the right direction. We've seen early signs of that, but there's lots of hard work ahead to keep that consistency going.”
