Darren Moore shared his delight at West Bromwich Albion confirming that James Shan would remain in charge of the first-team until the end of the season.
The Baggies confirmed via their official website on Tuesday that Shan would continue his role of caretaker Head Coach until the end of the current campaign as reward for his efforts.
Moore revealed that he thought it was great West Brom had felt no need to hire someone from outside the club to replace him and stated “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
“Yeah good, I mean it’s great to see Jimmy as we spent a lot of time together as when we came to the club we were put together as U-18s coaches,U-23’s coaches…” said Moore on EFL Matters (Sky Sports Football, Thursday April 18th, 19:12).
“So when I was given the role of caretaker manager then full-time manager I had no problem with Jimmy stepping up, Jimmy has taken to the role like water off a duck’s back in terms of he is a fantastic coach and a great individual.
“He has great humour, yeah (he will need it) and what he has got there even though…and I say this with honesty and sincerity there’s wonderful coaching at West Brom, Jimmy knows the group of players, the group of players know Jimmy, and it’s wonderful to see they felt no need to bring anybody in as if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
The former Baggies boss then added that he had spoken to Shan and sent a message to the manager and the current squad by saying he sincerely wished them well over the Easter period.
“So Jimmy has got it, I’m delighted for him, we’ve spoken, I wish him well every week and certainly this weekend over the Easter fixtures I sincerely wish him and the boys all the best for the two games over the Easter period,” added Moore.
OPINION
Moore really is one of the nicest guys in football. While some ex-managers would feel agitated that a club had parted company with them or even feel angry that they had simply promoted from within to replace them, Moore clearly doesn’t hold any ill-feeling towards the Baggies. When talking about his former club, his love for the Baggies shone through and his admiration for the job Shan was doing was clear. While the Baggies’ recent announcement that Shan would remain in charge until the end of the season, muted speculation about who would be the next permanent boss of the club, it’s still hard to fathom why the board acted so hastily to push Moore out the door. While Shan has done well since Moore departed, the club still sit fourth in the table which is exactly where the 44-year-old left them. When Moore was dismissed, you felt West Brom had a replacement lined-up, but that clearly has proven not to be the case.