Sheffield Wednesday’s player silence explained before huge Peterborough United challenge
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Owls players have not taken part in pre-match press conferences for over a month now, and there was also nobody other than Darren Moore present post-match in Peterborough on Friday night.
It would appear, though, that the decision has come as a directive from the Wednesday manager, who explained that he’d rather take the pressure of those discussions on his own shoulders so that his players can focus on their own jobs.
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Hide Ad“What I’ve wanted to do, really, is to try and keep the players focused on the games,” he told The Star. “I think that’s what it’s about, it’s about channelling all their energy and making sure they remain focused.
“The fans and loyal supporters will always be there, and they will engage back with them again, but I thought for these closing games it needs to be about keeping focused and our mindset on the matches. That’s been the purpose… When it’s concluded they can get back to it.”
Moore insisted that he has no problem with players getting involved with fans and speaking to the media, but explained that for now he was aiming to try and make sure their attentions weren’t altered anywhere but the field of play.
When asked if he felt that the outside noise could get to his players, the Owls boss said, “I think it’s also about not overthinking things too much, you know? I think that’s a big thing.
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“Players doing their media training is great, I think it’s excellent that supporters can get to understand their characters. It’s something I embrace, I like it because it’s a two-way thing.
“But as I said, for the last few weeks I just wanted to try and keep their mindset focused on their jobs on the pitch.”
Wednesday take on Peterborough on Thursday night needing what would be a record-breaking play-off comeback after their disappointing first leg, and Moore believes that they do have a chance to pull off Mission Improbable at S6 this week.