Darren Moore reveals what he did after being told to leave Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Darren Moore continued to work for Sheffield Wednesday after being told to leave, hoping that fan reaction would change Dejphon Chansiri's mind

Darren Moore continued to work for Sheffield Wednesday for a week after being told by Dejphon Chansiri that he would be replaced following the 2023 League One play-off final.

Wednesday are back in League One this season, hoping that, while a little less dramatic, they can achieve the same feat that Moore's Owls did back in the 2022/23 campaign, winning promotion via the play-offs.

Unfortunately, though, despite all the goodwill that the then-Sheffield Wednesday boss had created over the two years in League One, it was decided by former owner Dejphon Chansiri that the club would be going a different direction in the dugout ahead of their Championship return.

Darren Moore opens up on Sheffield Wednesday exit

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Darren Moore led the Owls to consecutive top-six finishes in his two years as Wednesday boss the last time the club were in League One.

They fell in the play-off semi-finals against Sunderland in the 2021/22 term, and despite collecting 96 points, had to settle for the play-offs again the following year. It looked like the same result when Peterborough United won 4-0 at London Road in the first leg, before Wednesday won 5-1 in the second leg, beating Posh on penalties.

Despite then going on to beat Barnsley in the final at Wembley, Dejphon Chansiri decided that Moore was going to leave, and speaking to The Wednesday Word, he opened up about how difficult it was to walk away.

"It was a really difficult time for me," he said. "Anyone in my position would have been off and out, but I stayed working for a week to 10 days, and I was really sad.

"What saddened me even more was that me and the chairman had food together in the city centre, and that was after I was told that I was off. So, we're having food, and there are fans coming up to us in the city centre, praising us and saying, 'Fantastic work.' I was hoping that the input of what people were saying could have flipped his mind.

"We went to a really lovely Thai restaurant, and fans wanted our autographs, waiting outside. I was kind of holding on, thinking it might change."

Unfortunately, despite that praise, Chansiri's mind was made up, and the two mutually parted ways ahead of the 2023/24 Championship campaign.

"I remember him coming back in on Monday morning and saying that he was still going to go through with it, and then there's nothing you can do."

Dejphon Chansiri's managerial gamble did not pay off in the summer of 2023

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Darren Moore was infamously replaced by Xisco Munoz, who led the Owls to their worst-ever start to a league season, one even worse than last year's, following a summer filled with protest and an exodus of the senior squad.

Wednesday picked up just two points in 10 league games under the Spaniard, scoring just five goals and leaving the club seven points from safety before he was sacked.

Luckily, the next managerial hire, Danny Rohl, managed to overturn that disastrous start and miraculously led Sheffield Wednesday to safety. The following year, he finished 12th despite there being off-field murmurs that led to the carnage that was last year.

Rohl was loved by those in the stands at Hillsborough, and he needed to end up proving to be a success, as the longer Wednesday failed without Moore at the helm, the worse the decision to part ways with the popular manager looked.

Darren Moore's Dejphon Chansiri story will fuel Sheffield Wednesday's detest for former owner

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Darren Moore is well regarded as one of the more likeable managerial figures in the EFL, and there was an overarching negative reaction when it was announced that he'd been made to part ways with the club he'd built a real connection with over the two years he was in charge.

The story that the 52-year-old told about his willingness to continue working for a short time after being told he had to leave will have stoked that positivity surrounding him.

But on the other hand, the fact that Chansiri still went ahead with his decision after seeing the outpouring of respect and praise from the Wednesday fans in person following the play-off final, knowing that he wanted to sack Moore and then didn't change his mind, will only serve to make those fans dislike their former owner even more.

Sheffield Wednesday are looking ahead under the Arise ownership, who, so far, have worked tirelessly to earn the respect of the fanbase through smart decisions off the field and, importantly, listening to what the fans want to see happen at the club.