How Darren Moore has stayed in control at Sheffield Wednesday despite Covid isolation period
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And so it will make it all the more difficult for him, then, that he has had to be separated from the day-to-day running of Sheffield Wednesday, the club he took charge of just over a month ago in what is such a vital peiord for the relegation-threatened club.
The 46-year-old returned a positive coronavirus test ahead of their Good Friday trip to Watford last week and had to sit out and watch from home as his assistant Jamie Smith took on the role at the centre of the dugout in both that defeat and the hugely impressive 5-0 win over Cardiff on Monday.
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Hide AdMoore’s separation from proceedings has purely physical though, The Star understands, with the Owls boss having held daily Zoom meetings with players and staff in order to ensure his message gets across, sometimes several times a day.
The Wednesday manager has held daily meetings before training sessions at Middlewood Road and performed pre-match and half-time talks in both of the matches he has had to sit out via the video conferencing platform.
Smith said after the Cardiff routing: “Technology nowadays, with Zoom and what have you, it’s great. He was in contact with us, the staff and players, right through the game really.
“He was on the phone to the analysis team and at half-time as well, in the dressing room, with the lads. He was in constant contact.”
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Hide AdMoore, who has battled asthma throughout his career and so is regarded as potentially vulnerable, is understood to be in good health. Smith joked after the match that his condition was helped by the Owls’ impressive win.
The 10-day isolation period means Moore is also set to miss the trip to QPR on Saturday as the Owls look to forge on with what would be an incredible great escape to Championship safety.
On the 5-0 win, Smith said: “It’s a massive performance and a massive win for us. We said at the start of the game with the players that we needed three points today. It wasn’t a ‘must-win’, but we needed the three points.
“We put in a lot of work there and we got our just rewards.”