Barnsley FC head coach Michael Duff on why any criticism of Sheffield Wednesday rival Darren Moore is 'weird'

Namely, that the amount of criticism aimed in Moore’s direction following the Owls' testing run-in – with some supporters even calling for him to be sacked after their recent League One semi-final first leg humbling against Peterborough United – was wholly wrong.

Given the overall season that Wednesday have had, the Reds chief views it as incomprehensible, even if he will be doing his level best to ensure that there is a painful outcome in Monday's Wembley final.

Duff said: “It is the weirdness of football and shows the emotional state that people can get into.

“Darren is a good manager, full stop.

“Was he a terrible manager when they got beat by four? No.

“And he has become an even better manager because of the belief he gave them (after).

“I saw interviews in the dressing room (following the second leg) and things he showed them. It's good management.

“Darren deserves loads of credit. Weirdly, there seems to have been a bit of noise around him.”

He added: “He got 96 points in a season. But he kept his counsel because he's a good fella, first and foremost.

“He's obviously a football man and he has been around it for a long time.”

Moore's coaching acumen is also something that Duff is respectfulof.

His Barnsley side may have done the double over the Owls in the regular season, but he believes that the Reds' final opponents possess several tactical strings to their bow. As his own side do, to be fair.

Duff continued: “They are probably the biggest team in the league in terms of physical size and they have got good threats from set-plays.

“They are hard to break down as they keep a lot of clean sheets and they can hurt you from all over the pitch as they showed in the game last week.

“Balls were coming in from everywhere.

“They are a different challenge to Bolton, who play the same way all the time.

“Whereas we have to try and prepare for two or three different types of Sheffield Wednesday teams.

“But I think we are similar and can hurt teams in different ways,” he added.

Duff is seeking his own Wembley hat-trick after successful days there as a player with Cheltenham Town, who won the FA Trophy in 1998 and Burnley, who beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final in 2009.

He added: “I am probably one of the lucky ones in managing to win at the old and new Wembley.

“We played Sheffield United and hopefully from a personal point of view, we can do the double over both Sheffield teams.

“I don't remember much about the match, but the build-up is special.

“I got drug-tested after the game, so missed a lot of the celebrations afterwards which was slightly annoying. But the party after it was worth it.”

Final countdown: Page 26