Darren Moore: West Brom sacking came as a shock

Breaking his silence for the first time since he was sacked three weeks ago, Moore says he hopes he has provided a platform for the Baggies to win promotion this season.

He insists he has no regrets taking the permanent job and hopes he can learn from his experience and ‘take it elsewhere’.

“Like everybody else, it came as a surprise,” Moore told Goals on Sunday. “I understand that’s football. I’ve always worked very hard for the football club.

"It was a shock at the time but I am buoyed by where the club was at and where I’ve left it at now.

“And hopefully I've given them the platform this season to claim that Premier League prize.

“There’s a lot of wonderful people at the club, and they’ve worked really hard since pre-season. I sincerely hope the club push it over the line and make it to the Premier League.”

Moore was dismissed after a run of one point from three games significantly dented Albion’s automatic promotion hopes.

But there was wide-spread shock at the decision that came with the Baggies in fourth place at the time.

"All I've ever done was focus on winning games,” said Moore. “I knew that February was going to be a tough month for us because we were playing all the top teams around us, but in the Championship you can lose 10 games and still get promoted. Everyone can beat everyone.

"It was just trying to work through those choppy waters and I thought we were still in a position where we could press on and get there, but it is what it is and it's time to move on.

"The beautiful part of football is that everyone has their opinion and people have drawn their conclusions, but all I can say is that I've not changed from the person who was given the role.

"It's important that I learn from what was achieved and move on and take it elsewhere.”

Moore was offered the job last summer after a successful stint in charge as caretaker boss towards the end of last season nearly kept Albion in the Premier League in miraculous circumstances. But the 44-year-old insists he has no regrets.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “For me, when I took the role as caretaker manager, it was an SOS call by the football club.

“The club was where it was at. It hurt me as an individual to see where the club was at because that wasn’t what West Brom was about.

“In terms of stepping in and helping the club to bring unity back into the football club, that was achieved – and I’m going all the way back towards the back end of the Premier League, last season, because of the run of games we’d been on.

“Of course, that run we’d been on meant I was offered the job on a permanent basis.

“I took the role, understanding what was ahead, and didn’t shirk the responsibility of going ahead.

“I really wanted to step in and bring that leadership to the club, but also that involved bringing everybody together.”