Graeme Jones interview: Why the Belgium No.2 with aspirations of management joined West Brom in the second tier
Four weeks after beating the might of Brazil in a World Cup quarter-final, Graeme Jones was preparing for a game against Bolton Wanderers in the Championship.
In the summer just gone, Roberto Martinez’s assistant helped take Belgium to one step away from the biggest game of them all.
So why did Jones, an experienced assistant with a team of superstars to coach and aspirations of being a manager himself, pack it all in to be a No.2 in the second tier?
“Darren’s the only person I’d be an assistant to now,” he said. “That’s how much I value Darren.
“I’ve worked at a good level, seven years in the Premier League and two years at international football.
“I had an offer to stay with Rob and the national team but for me it was never going to get any bigger than a World Cup semi-final.
“There’s only one game bigger in the world. We were lucky enough to win a bronze medal and I just saw the end of that particular road.
“I missed day-to-day coaching, you have long periods of doing nothing or just scouting, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I wanted to get back on the grass day-to-day and back in the UK as well.
“Then it’s about who you work with and with Darren I had no problems on a human level or a football level that it would work.
“I couldn’t have worked for anyone else. It was Darren or go on my own and I wanted to work with Darren. That’s why I did it.”
Born in Gateshead, the former striker known as 'Bonner' to his friends is still a recognisable Geordie, despite following Martinez for the past 11 years from Swansea to Wigan to Everton and then Belgium.
In an engaging interview at The Hawthorns this week, he outlined both why he chose to come to the Baggies, as well as his philosophy on the game.
Four years Moore’s senior, one season together at Doncaster Rovers in the mid-90s was enough to spark a long-term friendship.
“The owner of Doncaster at the time, Ken Richardson, asked me to go and pick him up at Doncaster railway station,” recalled Jones.
“Me and my wife turned up because Darren was turning up with Angie, who was his girlfriend at the time.
“I tried to help sell the club and there was a connection immediately.
“We both loved the game, you meet a lot of pros who use the game, but we both loved it. The girls connected too.
