Darren Moore defends James McClean's commitment to West Brom
Darren Moore has defended James McClean and urged Albion fans to look at his performances on the pitch as proof of his commitment.
McClean irritated supporters by admitting ‘a lot’ of players will be looking for a move back to the Premier League this summer once relegation is confirmed.
But caretaker boss Moore, who confirmed he hadn’t spoken to McClean about the comments, says nobody can doubt the winger’s dedication when he’s playing.
“With James, the biggest thing is his commitment on the pitch,” said Moore. “If we look at what he has done I think we can all say he has shown tremendous commitment for the football club – 100 per cent.
“I don’t think anybody can doubt his commitment because he has performed very well for this football club.
“He has been an excellent performer over recent weeks. I am just going off performances, what has been said, has been said.
"I have not had a chat with him on the matter, if I did, I would say to you now.
“My message to James, as with all the other players that have shown tremendous commitment, desire and togetherness, is continue what you are doing.”
McClean annoyed supporters with a response to a question posed to him about the upcoming summer.
He said players had to look after their families ‘first and foremost’ before attempting to clarify his comments with another statement released on social media this week.
However, that post seemed to only pour petrol on the situation because it was addressed to the ‘uneducated’.
McClean has started all four of Moore’s games in charge and the caretaker has no plans to remove him from contention this weekend.
“James is available for selection,” he said. “If he is selected we expect to see the same committed performance.”
After four games unbeaten, the calls to give Moore the job permanently are growing louder.
However, he has refused to reveal publicly whether he wants the role or not, and claims he hasn’t spoken to the board about the job either.
“I have not had any conversations with the board members on where this is going to go,” he said. “No conversations at all.
“We will get through to the end of the season and we will go from there. I can’t speculate on anything else. We have just been focusing on team affairs.”
