Warm, confident, a man with a plan.. First impressions of Darren Moore: Sheffield Wednesday manager

Strong of tone and confident, he took questions for over an hour at his unveiling as Sheffield Wednesday manager over Zoom this afternoon, fielding every one with genuine earnest.

When he doesn’t want to answer one, he’ll all but say as much. Those who remember Darren Moore the player will recall a man mountain centre-half, barrell-chested, tough and uncompromising to the last minute. He’s a natural leader of men and won’t be swayed.

The question we all wanted answering was of course on his contract length, but as it did with previous managers at Wednesday, it’s something that will be kept under wraps for now at least. As if he was defending a series of nuisance corners, he headed away each probe firmly and definitely.

Long-term plans? He told us he is concentrating entirely on the here and now. Several times. Moore gives a first impression of authority and that he is his own man.

A warm personality and enormous smile are powerful things in the age of social media and 24/7 news coverage and he has both, important attribute to have in his call for Sheffield Wednesday fans, staff and players to come together as an army at the head of which he is commander-in-chief.

Though he made clear he will assess the strengths of his squad more in far more detail before committing to any system or style of play, his insistence that he hopes to play the sort of front-foot football that Doncaster Rovers fans have become accustomed to was steadfast and will be music to the ears of Owls supporters.

And one mantra was threaded throughout the call; improvement. He sees potential in this Wednesday squad and it is on the training ground that he feels most at home.

Wednesday are of course without a point in games they have trailed in this season and asked about the mentality of the side, Moore refused to shirk away from there being an issue to solve there, but intimated it was a problem that could be eradicated by hard work on the training ground.

We’ll find out more in the coming weeks of course, starting on Wednesday night. First impressions? A fine start to life at Sheffield Wednesday.

MORE FROM OUR WEDNESDAY WRITING TEAM

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How it all happened and what about backroom staff? Detail as Darren Moore is appointed Sheffield Wednesday boss

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