Stand-in Owls boss Jamie Smith opens up on Darren Moore's situation after late Covid pull-out

Sheffield Wednesday assistant manager Jamie Smith offered a little clarity on the situation surrounding Darren Moore after the Owls boss was ruled out of their trip to Watford having returned a positive coronavirus test.
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Smith stood in for Moore as Wednesday fell to a 1-0 defeat at Vicarage Road through a controversial Tom Lees own goal.

The stand-in manager explained he felt the goal shouldn’t have stood and described just how late he found out he’d be taking the fixture as Moore’s test was made known to the club on Friday morning.

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Moore didn’t travel to Watford and there is as of yet no indication that any other Wednesday figure has returned a positive test result.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore returned a positive coronavirus test the day before the Owls' defeat at Watford.Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore returned a positive coronavirus test the day before the Owls' defeat at Watford.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore returned a positive coronavirus test the day before the Owls' defeat at Watford.

The protocol is unclear as to how long Moore will have to self-isolate and Smith said has not yet been given an indication as to how long he will be in charge of the squad.

“He’s OK,” Smith said on a manager he has worked with for 10 years. “I spoke to him this morning and he’s feeling alright.

“He was watching the game and we had contact with the analysis guys during the game, we were in constant contact.

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“I don’t know at this stage how long Darren will be out for. We were communicating over the phone and he was watching the game from home.”

Moore and Smith have been in a similar situation before. The Owls boss was forced to self-isolate for 10 days back in November when manager of Doncaster Rovers along with the rest of his first team coaching staff including Smith himself.

Andy Butler, who has stepped into the Keepmoat hotseat since Moore’s exit to Hillsborough, took the reigns and the Good Friday fixture was Smith’s first taste of league management.

On what he described as a positive and spirited performance, the stand-in boss said: “I’m disappointed for the lads, I felt we probably did about enough to get something out of the game.

“The game was even, we were well in the game.

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“There are lots and positives to take from the game and we’ll continue to be positive and fight for every single point.”

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