24 August 2023 , 08:14
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Darren Moore has denied his Sheffield Wednesday exit was "about the money" - insisting it was a purely football matter.
Moore left the Owls after their remarkable promotion from League One last season. They were four goals down to Peterborough in their play-off semi-final but recovered before beating Barnsley at Wembley with a dramatic last-minute winner.
The manager was initially expected to lead Wednesday in the Championship but stunned fans when he left by mutual consent in June. The club's owner Dejphon Chansiri then raised eyebrows by claiming Moore wanted his salary quadrupled. Moore has now broken his silence on the matter. He has dismissed Chansiri's claim and believes the owner was over-ambitious in his targets for this season. The Owls have lost all three of their Championship games under new manager Xisco Munoz.
Moore discussed his Hillsborough departure with Sky Sports. He said: "After Wembley had been and the dust had settled and everything else, I had a meeting with the chairman as you do, just to continue what had been discussed in the build-up to it.
"I’m clearly on record saying that irrespective of the division the club was in, our targets were set in mind in terms of what was going. When we had the meeting, what has happened is that the vision that was set and that timescale was a little bit out of line.
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"So amicably we both keep to an agreement at the time and decided it wasn’t right at the time. The decision was made for me to step away and for the club to continue.
"A lot of noise was made around at the time and I never said anything because my emphasis was to allow Sheffield Wednesday to move forward, and to allow the chairman to bring in another manager of his choice, that he felt could take the club forward.
"I have no grievances with that decision. It was a private conversation between me and him and the conversation even now will remain private.
Moore left Hillsborough after the League One play-off final (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)What do you make of Darren Moore's response? Let us know in the comments below!
"I know there was a lot of stuff said about the salary and everything else, but honestly, it was never about the money side of it. It was purely and strictly about the football. Anybody who knows me knows I’m all about the football, I’m energised by the football, I love the competition of the football.
"Ever since I’ve become a manager, I’ve been energised by the job and I was really energised about Sheffield Wednesday. I didn't expect to be sitting here, but I understand football is football. I wish the club well and the next adventure is the next adventure."
Chansiri issued a statement shortly after Moore's exit. He said: "I told Darren I was happy for him to stay, he achieved promotion and deserved a chance in the Championship. I said I was happy to increase his salary and add more bonuses into the contract, with the highest bonus if we reached the Premier League.
"But the proposal Darren presented was significantly in excess of his contract and I said I cannot offer a minimum of four times your current salary on a three-year contract, I have to be realistic and protect the club."