'He wanted me out' - Darren Moore makes Dejphon Chansiri admission and reflects on Sheffield Wednesday exit
Darren Moore left Sheffield Wednesday in June 2023 after disagreements with former owner Dejphon Chansiri.
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore believes the events of the last 12 months have proven Dejphon Chansiri was the catalyst behind his controversial exit from Hillsborough almost three years ago.
Moore left Hillsborough in June 2023, exactly three weeks after leading the Owls back to the Championship via a historic League One play-off campaign. After overseeing an astonishing comeback against Peterborough United at the semi-final stage, Moore then led Wednesday to a 1-0 win over Barnsley in the final at Wembley.
Everyone associated with Wednesday was riding the crest of a wave after a period of time unlike any other, meaning Moore’s departure came as a huge shock. Chansiri, in a statement confirming Moore’s exit, said both parties felt the time was right to go their separate ways.
Chansiri later claimed that Moore, who has since been in charge of Huddersfield Town and Port Vale, had been asking for a contract four times bigger than his existing one.
Chansiri, on June 29, said in a statement on Wednesday’s club website: “The proposal Darren presented was significantly in excess of his contract and I said I cannot offer a minimum of four times your current salary on a three-year contract, I have to be realistic and protect the club.”
Moore later offered his side of the story, insisting his departure stemmed from disagreements about the football side of the operation and nothing to do with money, telling Sky Sports: “I know there was a lot of stuff said about the salary and everything else, but honestly, it was never about the money side of it. It was purely and strictly about the football.
“Anybody who knows me knows I’m all about the football, I’m energised by the football, I love the competition of the football.”
Almost three years on from his S6 exit, Moore has now lifted the lid a little bit further on his departure, suggesting the club’s sharp decline towards the end of Chansiri’s reign has only strengthened his argument for the reasons behind his Owls departure.
“I didn't want to leave,” Moore told the Mail. “It's only now people can see what happened.
“He wanted me out of the club, and he got me out. I wanted to build in the Championship and go forward. I was gutted when he didn't allow me that and showed me the door.
"A lot of people don't realise that, and I had to stand back and listen to him say things about me that were quite hurtful. But in the end, what's come through is that now everyone can see where the club was at."