Darren Moore leaves Sheffield Wednesday despite promotion to the …

Sheffield Wednesday^[1] have announced that manager Darren Moore^[2] has left the club by mutual consent in a shock exit.

His backroom staff follow him out of Hillsborough, three weeks after winning the play-off final to achieve promotion to the Championship^[3]. Ex-West Brom^[4] defender and former Jamaica international Moore, 49, had been in charge of the Owls since March 2021 and led a remarkable campaign last season, culminating in an epic finish at Wembley^[5].

Wednesday sensationally beat South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley^[6] in the last minute of extra-time during May's League One^[7] play-off final, but that moment of drama from goalscorer Josh Windass^[8] was just the tip of the iceberg. In the semi-finals, Wednesday were stunned by Peterborough^[9] - a team they'd finish 19 points above - suffering a catastrophic 4-0 defeat in the first leg.

In the aftermath of the loss, Moore was subject to vile racist abuse, despite leading Wednesday to a record-breaking 96 points in the regular season. Somehow, Moore's men made it past Peterborough on penalties following a 5-1 victory in the return fixture at Hillsborough, inspired by their manager's leadership qualities and strength despite such abuse.