Darren Moore: West Brom defence will bounce back

Albion’s back three all struggled in the 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s, with Kyle Bartley giving away a penalty while Ahmed Hegazi and Craig Dawson lost possession in dangerous areas.

Moore admitted it was an off-day for his side, and pointed out that it wasn’t just the defence at fault because ‘six or seven’ players underperformed.

And he is confident that his defence will prove the doubters wrong at The Hawthorns tonight and show they are capable of playing out from the back.

“We’ve got some wonderful individual defenders,” he said. “They are dogged and resolute defenders, they are pillars, they’ve got that in them. But the icing on the cake for me is that they can play.

“It’s one of those mysteries in football – sometimes it doesn’t quite gel – but you’ve got to give Birmingham credit, they set up well and made it difficult.

“These are new grounds for West Brom, if you like. There’s going to be different tactics used against us, and they are hurdles that you have to try and overcome.

“It’s about outhinking, outfoxing, and outmanoeuvring the opposition to try and win a game. Friday was an off-night for us.”

The Baggies escaped St Andrew’s with a point last Friday, and Moore wants his side to bounce back with a much-better performance at The Hawthorns, where they have won their last four games in all competitions.

“It was unlike us,” added Moore. “It was a bad day at the office, and it wasn’t just one or two, it was six or seven of the players. It was an off-day.

“I know the players, I work with them every day, they’re fantastic players. We’ll reflect on that game and try put those wrongs right in this game.”

Lee Johnson’s Robins come to The Hawthorns with four wins in a row, making them the in-form side of the Championship.

“They’re an excellent team but I like to think we’re a good team,” said Moore. “You’ll see two teams at the right end of the division playing good football and doing the right things.

“We’ve got to do those little things that went wrong against Birmingham much better, and hopefully we’ll see that.

“Me and Lee played against each other, we sat on the same coaching courses and were in the same group at leadership courses.

“He’s somebody I admire and know very well, I look forward to catching up with him.”