Darren Moore has revealed that promotion will be the aim next season for Sheffield Wednesday after seeing his team lose out on a place in the League One playoff final to Sunderland. 

Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-1 on aggregate with Sunderland scoring a late winner across the two legs, resigning Darren Moore's side to another season out of the Championship.

However, Moore is hoping it will serve as motivation for his players as they aim for another promotion push next season.

Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Moore said: "When we get back into pre-season and reflect on the disappointment, hopefully it is a driver.

"We will continue to keep working. The big thing for me is making sure that we build on some of the solid blocks we have put in place this season. We have to keep moving forward."

Moore will be looking to lay the groundwork as he starts to plan for next season, revealing he will be letting players know of their futures in the coming days: “Over the course of the season, it was all about the here and now. I will let the players have a day or two and then we’ll bring them back in to have some talks with them.

“Before that, it’s important that myself, the chairman, and the recruitment team get together and have a real good chat but at the moment if I told you all that had been discussed I’d be lying to you. We were always focusing on the here and now.”

Sheffield Wednesday finished the season in 4th, five points off the automatics, following their relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

The Verdict

It's a big summer ahead for Sheffield Wednesday.

They will know how important a season of planning will be as they look to navigate their way out of the third tier.

They will also know how easy it is to get sucked into League One and how hard it is to get out, as both Ipswich and Sunderland will attest to. So, getting things right this summer, recruiting the right players and getting it done early will be essential if the Owls are to return to the Championship next season.

Indeed, with the squad they have put together, and the form they showed during the second half of the season in particular, you get the feeling there is a foundation there to build on in the coming campaign.