Darren Moore takes reverse approach to Garry Monk and Carlos Carvalhal as Sheffield Wednesday look to get back to best
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Moore has made no secret of his frustration at recent performances, particularly going forward, as a three-game run of draws elongated an unbeaten run to 10 matches.
But that form has had no impact on his decision to have his players report for training on Christmas Day, which is a policy not adopted by the likes of Carvalhal and Monk previously, who gave players the day off.
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Hide AdWednesday effectively had Christmas off last season due to a Covid outbreak at the club and the laser-focused Owls boss made clear it’s a decision he’d have come to regardless of their current form.
“Over 20 or 30-odd years in the game I think I've only had Christmas Day off once or twice,” Moore said.
“We'll be working as normal. Some clubs have it off, some work. There's no right or wrong to it, it's each to their own.”
Reporting no fresh injury concerns and hopes that the likes of Barry Bannan and George Byers would be available for selection, Moore went on to confirm that the squad would be making the trip to the west coast as normal the day before the game and will spend the evening as a squad.
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Hide Ad“The players will have half the day with families and loved ones and then they'll be in training, then we'll travel,” he said. “And then we'll be in a hotel on Christmas Day night.
“Because of the distance to Fleetwood, you have to be careful. We don't want to get any hold-ups or anything like that on Boxing Day when the sales are on, Christmas shoppers are out and there's the football traffic. We just can't take that risk.
“Also, if we're together as a group it helps keep the focus. It’s going to be another tough game for us and we will have to be at our level best again.
“Some clubs do it, some clubs don’t. There’s no right or wrong way, it’s just what we choose to do. I’ve always been used to it as a player and a manager, Christmas Day is no different in terms of training.”