Neil Warnock has labelled losing Glenn Murray one of the biggest mistakes in his 36 years as a manager.

Cardiff boss Warnock had Albion marksman Murray two seasons ago when he went back to Crystal Palace as manager.

He let him join Reading on loan and, by the time Murray returned from a free-scoring stint with the Championship club, Warnock had been axed after a poor run of results dumped Palace in the Premier League relegation zone.

Warnock said: “I only saw him for two or three sessions when he asked to go, that was one of my biggest mistakes, I knew that within two weeks.

“We needed him within three weeks, he’d have been playing, but I let him go for family, etc.”

Murray could inflict more misery on Warnock in Wales today.

The striker back on loan from Bournemouth scored his 11th goal of the season, all at home, against Fulham at the Amex last Saturday.

A first away goal since January for Murray could help cement next-to-top Albion’s automatic promotion challenge at the expense of Warnock’s next-to-bottom Cardiff.

The clash is the first away match for 44-year-old new Albion assistant Paul Trollope, Cardiff’s manager until October.

Warnock said: “I’ve known Paul since he played for me at Torquay. People like him brought me back to life after leaving Notts County. There were a group of lads that went through brick walls for me on 100 quid a week. It brought me down to earth, he would die for me. Some of the tackles he went through made me wince!

“Sometimes fate has a big part in life. He’s a smashing bloke and now he’s at a wonderful club.”

“He’ll be disappointed but at Paul’s age he’ll learn from it, he’ll be a better person for it. I think he’s a wonderful bloke and a super coach.”