Ciaran Brennan progress shows Darren Moore happy to give Sheffield Wednesday’s youth a chance

Moore cut his coaching teeth in academy football and has a reputation as a manager who gives youth a chance, although often it has been young players loaned in from higher up the pyramid, such as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Theo Corbeanu.

But he insists he will make space for anyone in the Owls academy to progress if they are good enough.

“No player at Sheffield Wednesday will get a better opportunity of progressing and playing in our first-team than at the present moment,” he promised.

“I am someone who believes in youth.

“If they are good enough, they will play.”

A Covid-19 outbreak caused the Owls to play seven academy products at Exeter City in last season’s FA Cup, including debutants Ryan Gavin, Declan Eratt-Thompson and Isaac Rice. But only really Ciaran Brennan, recently back from a loan at Notts County, can be said to have progressed at Hillsborough with Liam Shaw leaving for Celtic and Alex Hunt out on loan.

Moore says he knows what lies beneath the senior squad at a club where the under-18s have reached the FA Youth Cup fourth round.

“We know all about these players,” he said. “When they are doing well, they step into the first-team fold so we can get eyes on them to see what they are like when they step in and around with the seniors.

“It is all brought up in the technical board meetings – when we have a meeting we get an update in terms of how the players are getting on with the coaching staff and see their progression and pathway met.

“We changed around the (kick-off time of the under-23s game on Thursday so I could get eyes on them and study the game.

“You’re one step away from the first team, so it’s a really important squad.”