Sheffield Wednesday v Doncaster Rovers: Darren Moore forever indebted to Rovers

THOSE hulking broad shoulders that Darren Moore possesses might just come in handy this afternoon.

The Sheffield Wednesday head coach has been around football long enough to know full well that he is likely to receive considerable vitriol from supporters who idolised him in his time at Doncaster Rovers when he makes his way into the home dug-out this afternoon.

Moore abruptly left Rovers at the end of last winter to make the short hop down the M18. For fans who saw his predecessor Grant McCann jump ship and head to Hull City in the summer of 2019, it was another bitter blow.

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There was disappointment in the Rovers boardroom too at Moore leaving part way through a ‘season of promise’ in the words of the club’s statement announcing his departure.

Welcome to hillsborough: Today will be the first league game in front of fans for Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore. (Picture: Steve Ellis)Welcome to hillsborough: Today will be the first league game in front of fans for Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore. (Picture: Steve Ellis)
Welcome to hillsborough: Today will be the first league game in front of fans for Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore. (Picture: Steve Ellis)

Support in the transfer market during ‘difficult financial circumstances’ was also referenced. It was perhaps understandable.

For many Rovers followers in the Leppings Lane end today, the wounds will have not healed. Some might recognise the job that Moore did and apply some perspective, but others will not.

For his part, Moore – who had previously been revered for his time at the club as a player in the troubled mid-Nineties – hopes that supporters take the broader view when looking at his time in charge at Rovers.

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He told The Yorkshire Post: “I hope so. I just hope they look to the facts in terms of the time I was there and nothing does detract away from that and hopefully that will be looked upon in the greatest respect.

Darren Moore managing Doncaster Rovers last year (Picture: Marie Caley)Darren Moore managing Doncaster Rovers last year (Picture: Marie Caley)
Darren Moore managing Doncaster Rovers last year (Picture: Marie Caley)

“I wish the club really well as I had a good time there. I will always be forever indebted to them for giving me the opportunity. But now, we go head to head.”

Another playing legend in Richie Wellens now finds himself at the Rovers’ helm – and Moore, for his part, is glad to see the club in capable, caring hands.

His well-wishes towards his old side are genuine and not trite, but there will be a brief hiatus for a couple of hours this afternoon.

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On pitting his wits against Wellens, Moore observed: “It is a great appointment. It is another person who has come into the club who has played for them and had good success.

“I think he will have that ingrained time at the club and knows it inside out and I am sure it will be like a duck to water for him in getting back in and knowing the surroundings.”

Understandably, Moore’s previous affiliations with today’s visitors have dominated the preliminaries ahead of his first home league game in front of spectators at Hillsborough.

It is something that the Owls head coach expected, but equally he is conscious of the game being a psychologically significant one in its own right for his side.

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Moore is striving to build a team in his own image. Some mainstays from last season remain, but 13 new players have been recruited. Signings arrive for their technical prowess, but at a club like Wednesday, mentality and personality is also part of the package. Especially at a club which, at this level, is there to be shot at, with games at Hillsborough likely to be ones which invariably inspire visiting League One sides.

For too many years to mention over the past few decades, indifferent home form has surfaced on regular occasions.

If Wednesday are to depart this level at the first opportunity, Hillsborough surely must be something akin to a fortress.

Players must be psychologically lifted when they are greeted by the sight of 20,000 fans at their place of sporting worship, not intimidated.

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Moore commented: “Certainly, for the players, they should be rubbing their hands together to play in front of that vast fanbase.

“Let’s get it right, the fans are there because they want to support them.

“They have got the Wednesday shirt on and are passionate for their club and all the fans would give their right arm just to step on the turf for the club they have supported all their lives. The players should be energised by that and my message to the players coming in has been that they have got to enjoy it.

“Work hard and enjoy playing in front of those wonderful fanbase should be a dream for footballers.

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“When I aspired to be a footballer, you wanted to play games tomorrow in front of passionate fanbases and part of me is jealous that I am not putting my boots on and getting out there myself.

“The next best thing for me is to be the manager and it is an honour for me to be the manager.”

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