Comment: Darren Moore's platform has removed fears of a double drop for West Brom

As the horror of Sunderland’s first season in the Championship unfolded before our eyes, it served as a stark warning to a club on its knees, and rock bottom of the Premier League.

Following some of the most tumultuous months in the club’s history, Albion were left with no manager, no board, an underperforming squad, and a disillusioned fanbase.

Mark Jenkins had been parachuted back in by an absent Chinese owner to try and steady the ship, but it was a huge job for one man to undertake.

The only person left to help him before Giuliano Terrano arrived as technical consultant was Richard Garlick, who himself will be departing for a newly-created Premier League position in the summer.

But Darren Moore’s valiant efforts over the past four games has not only restored pride, it has provided a crucial platform for next season.

Although the Baggies are not mathematically down yet, they are likely to be relegated today because they need four results to go their way.

This run of form may be too little, too late, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important.

The short-term impact may have been nothing more than a few glorious days out for a well-deserving and weary fanbase, but the long-term impact is far more significant.

Together with Neil Cutler and James Shan, Moore has given the club some momentum in these last few games going into the summer.

Instead of worrying about replicating Sunderland, there is now hope Albion can follow in the footsteps of their North East rivals Newcastle.

“Going down with momentum can be powerful, as Newcastle showed a couple of years ago,” said Ben Foster after the game at St James’ Park.

“We’ve got a few players who have already said that they’ll be here next season no matter what and try to help us get back up.

“I hope this run will have convinced a few more players to stick around and help the cause even if we do have to rebuild a bit and bring a few more players in.”

The crucial component to Newcastle’s immediate return last season was keeping Rafa Benitez, a Champions League winner who was the stand-out manager in that division.

And there’s no doubt Albion need the right man at the helm to mount their own promotion charge next season.

Darren Moore was promoted to the Premier League four times as a player – once each with Bradford and Derby and twice with the Baggies – so he has experience treading that particular path.

But the Championship has changed a lot in the last decade, and building a squad to get promoted is incredibly different to playing in one.

His relationship with the club and this group of players in particular means he has to remain as a coach, but the full-time job may be one step too far.

The two front-runners at the moment are Dean Smith and Michael Appleton, and both are expected to be interviewed in the coming days.

Smith has more experience in the Championship, worked with Cutler at Walsall, and has a history of playing attractive football. For all those reasons, he is this writer’s pick.

But whoever it is will be given a platform to work with, and that is down to Moore.

Somewhat remarkably for a team likely to go down today, there is the feeling that the future could be bright.