As a Bournemouth fan, I am well acquainted with defeat and the urge to blame the manager but am sad Mark McGhee has been sacked from the Albion.

When I was a football reporter, I found him to be one of the most passionate and engaging managers I ever encountered.

He wanted to win and the frustration he exhibited in defeat made for some extremely colourful press conferences.

Although his tactics have often been questioned, he outwitted many a Championship manager.

His transformation of Adam Virgo into a centre-forward was a masterstroke and almost single-handedly kept the team up in 2004-05.

His controversial dropping of Leon Knight in order to partner Virgo with the more muscular (albeit ancient) Steve Claridge proved to be tactical genius against West Ham in 2004.

It must have been a nightmare for fans to see Albion almost devoid of attacking intent but Premiership-bound West Ham soon became frustrated by Virgo and Claridge and were defeated from a set-piece.

I don't pretend McGhee was perfect but he certainly worked wonders on limited resources - and not just at Albion.

In the Nineties, he began the transformation of Reading from League One no-hopers to Premiership challengers.

He repeated this feat at Millwall by extracting every ounce of talent from a very inexperienced side. And in 2003-04, Albion's home record was the envy of League One.

He will certainly enjoy more success elsewhere in football.

I apologise to Mark if my interview questions were not to his liking, and his fiery responses provide a glittering souvenir of his passion for making Albion win.

McGhee is certainly one of football's true characters.

If he wants a biography written, he knows who to speak to.

Chris Gould, Burgess Hill