The story of the heartwarming viral video that shows Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore's kindness to young fan

More than a little weary, with the clock having passed 11pm after Sheffield Wednesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Rochdale, he stepped out of the player’s entrance at Hillsborough to head towards his car and make the journey home.

Car keys in hand, he was surprised to find two Owls fans on the concourse waiting for him nearly two hours after so many others had left.

Footage of what happened next has gone viral on social media after lifelong Wednesdayite Dean Furniss, 51, posted to show a snippet of Moore’s warm, open and enthusiastic conversation with his 11-year-old son Lucas.

Where other football figures may have hurriedly stopped for a photo and bolted for their BMWs, the Wednesday manager stopped to speak man-to-man with Lucas, offering coaching advice on how, as a right wing-back for Westfield Rangers under-12s, the wee man could improve his confidence on the ball.

It’s an interaction typical of how Moore goes about the responsibility of leading Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.

“I only filmed it because I thought we’d forget what he said but I’m glad I did,” dad Dean, the founder of Westfield Rangers, told The Star.

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“I wasn’t going to post it anywhere but it was such a nice thing for him to do and I thought someone like that deserved the positive reaction it’s had.

“We were chatting on the way back to his car as well. He was really interested in how Lucas’ team was getting on. He was brilliant.”

The reaction has been remarkable. Posted late on Thursday evening, the video has received almost 400,000 views and has received plaudits from supporters all over the country.

Darren’s common-touch approach, Dean says, is one he thinks Wednesday fans should know about and makes him proud to have Moore as manager of his club.

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“I’m desperate for Darren to succeed, especially now” he said. “You can see other people on Twitter have said the same.

“I haven’t agreed with all his decisions, but we’re all brilliant armchair fans at the end of the day!

“I’ve warmed to him so much, he’s playing some exciting football and we all look forward to the games now, which hasn’t always been the case.”

Lucas is transitioning to secondary school in the coming weeks and will take the confidence-building conversation shared with Moore into life as well as football, Dean said.

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He said the youngster was ‘walking on air’ later on Tuesday evening and has been smiling ever since that short chat with the Wednesday boss, which has already improved his football, it seems.

“He kept hugging me and thanking me,” he laughed. “We’d got photographs with all the players and waited around and nearly left at half 10 but he [Lucas] pulled a sad face and wanted to wait for Darren. Well I had to, didn’t I? It made his day.

“He had a game on Wednesday, the day after and he took it all into the game. It’s already improved his confidence.”