ROBERTO Di Matteo insists he is no rush to replace Jonathan Greening - and has paid tribute to the club's departed skipper.

The 30-year-old midfielder today completed his move to Fulham on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal.

Greening arrived at The Hawthorns from Middlesbrough for an initial £1.25million in July 2004 and has been a consistent performer since.

After helping the Baggies pull off the Great Escape in 2004/05, he scooped the Player-of-the-Year award the following term before captaining the team to the Coca-Cola Championship title in 2008.

Di Matteo said: "Jonno has been a big player for this club and, as you well know, we made every effort to keep him.

"But eventually we felt the deal on the table was a very good deal for us and we decided to let him go.

"We wish him good luck.

"He's been a great servant for this club.

"Since I've worked here, he has been very professional and I wish him all the best in the Premier League."

Di Matteo has been encouraged by his side's performances in their two games without Greening, which have resulted in wins over Peterborough and Ipswich.

And he is confident his squad can cope with his loss as he considers his options in the transfer market.

"At the moment, I think we have a very good squad with the players we've got," Di Matteo added.

"Let's not forget we have a couple of longer term injuries with Ishmael Miller and James Morrison.

"I'm not going to rush into any decisions about another player."