West Bromwich Albion midfielder Chris Brunt has become the first player to speak out after the sacking of Darren Moore.

Moore was hired as manager of the club on a permanent basis, after picking up 11 points from a possible 18 as the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League last term.

The Baggies parted company with the 44-year old on Saturday evening, in the aftermath of their 1-1 draw with bottom side Ipswich Town - a result that leaves the club's automatic promotion hopes hanging by a thread.

After losing to Sheffield United and Leeds United in recent weeks, the West Midlands side sit nine points off the play-offs, with Preston North End manager Alex Neil and former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic being linked with the vacant role at the Hawthorns.

Speaking ahead of the Baggies' home clash with Swansea on Wednesday night, Brunt told the club website: "It’s not a nice time - I’ve seen a fair few managers in my time here."

"It’s never nice to see anybody lose their job in any walk of life, but the job Darren did last season especially, taking over and steadying the ship. For the majority of last season it was a bit shambolic to be honest and he did really well taking over at the back end of the season and he deserved his chance at the job."

"Since the turn of the year our home form hasn’t been great and at the end of the day, the people in charge are paid to make decisions for the best interests of the football club and hopefully in the long run it will be the right one."

Albion will be managed by caretaker boss James Shan on Wednesday, as the club look to get their promotion push back on track. The play-offs look to be a certainty for the West Midlands side, who currently sit seven points clear of 7th spot.

The Verdict

I still can't quite believe that Moore was sacked by the club after such an impressive tenure.

He did fantastically well as caretaker manager last year, and when you look at Stoke and Swansea this season, the Baggies have done brilliantly well to be up there this term.

Slavisa Jokanovic would be the ideal shout for most fans now, as he has experience of winning the play-offs very recently.