How Darren Moore responded as angry fans question his Sheffield Wednesday future

The defeat – their second on the road in four days after a 5-0 trouncing at Sunderland on Thursday – leaves the Owls six points shy of the playoffs after 24 matches while battling a continued injury crisis.

Wednesday were top of League One in August but have tumbled since then, with a run of one defeat in 15 threaded together by eight draws and keeping them within striking distance of the top six.

But the frustration of some Wednesday supporters has bubbled over in the last week, with some going as far as to call for Moore to leave his post at Hillsborough after just nine months in the role.

Asked whether he understood that level of frustration, Moore told BBC Sheffield: “100 per cent. It’s what we do, I’m in a job where I have to lead, I’m in a job at a fantastic club.

“Let’s make no qualms about it, we knew what this season was going to be about and we’re at a football club with a level of high expectation and expectancy from Sheffield Wednesday supporters.

“My message is that there is still a lot of the season to be played and there are still a lot of the teams up above us that we still have to play. There is a lot of football to be played.

“I can’t afford to look on what’s gone. What’s gone has gone and I can’t do anything about it. What I can do is get back on the training ground and get some work done.

“The team has shown over the course of the season that we have shown consistency and ruthlessness to win games and what we have to do is find that. We have got to win games and that’s what we’ll be looking to do over the next two weeks, get the work done and then in the games pick back up and be competitive.”

January is set to be a busy month for Wednesday, with Moore keen to strengthen his squad particularly in defensive areas.

Pushed on what reasons there are for what many perceive to be an underperforming side, the former West Brom manager admitted injuries have been an issue throughout the season.

With Dominic Iorfa, Lewis Gibson, Chey Dunkley and Sam Hutchinson out for large periods across the campaign, the likes of Marvin Johnson and Callum Paterson have had to be used as central defenders, with Hutchinson rushed back for the Shrewsbury game with rookie Kwame Boateng on the bench.

Moore said: “There’s been a lot of injuries, we’ve had four central defenders out for large points of the season. We’ve been playing the first half of the season with makeshift players in there.

“Usually those are the most robust positions but we’ve lost them.

“We always feel we’ve been playing catch-up with the team. Hopefully through the transfer window we can make one or two signings to re-address the balance of that.”