Why Sheffield Wednesday contract talks remain on ice despite expiring deals

The Owls have a number of senior players who will be out of contract at the end of this season, but despite that fact they are not in the progress of trying to tie down any of those players beyond the summer.

Key figures such as Massimo Luongo, Sam Hutchinson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing are among those who will be free agents come July as things stand, but Moore doesn’t seem too worried about that right now – rather choosing to focus on their push to secure a spot in this season’s Play-Offs.

He told The Star on Friday, “What we’ve been doing is just focusing on us - and the contractual situations will - we feel - look after themselves.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we’re focused now, because to open any contractual negotiations would be the wrong thing to do - mentally and physically it can be a distraction.

“With just five or six weeks of the season we want time, we don’t want to rush these things. From our perspective we’re fully aware of the situation, but we’re all just getting our heads down. We just want to keep progressing and moving forward.

“There’s been a good atmosphere at the training ground, which is good to see, and that’s good for the culture of the football club - that unity.”

And when asked whether he was confident that the Owls would be able to keep who they want to keep, he replied, “Yeah - I am. Why is that? I feel like it’s a challenging environment for them, and it’s a club where they can fulfil their dreams and aspirations going forward.

“I take it as a compliment if there is talks about contract talks, because it means players want to stay and commit their futures. And that’s a positive thing.”

The Owls have seven games left to secure their spot in the League One Play-Offs, with their next challenge coming in the shape of AFC Wimbledon when they come to Hillsborough on Saturday.

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