Darren Moore’s Leeds & Leicester claim after Sheffield Wednesday promotion

Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore is relishing “some special games” in the Championship next season but claimed he hadn’t taken any notice of Leeds United and Leicester City being relegated until after his side’s promotion was confirmed.

The Owls beat South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in the League One play-off final at Wembley on Monday thanks to Josh Windass’ 123rd-minute winner to secure their return to the second tier after two years away.

Wednesday’s triumph completes the Championship field for 2023/24 – with both Leeds and Leicester relegated when the Premier League season wrapped on Sunday.

It looks like one of the strongest lineups we’ve seen in the second flight for some time and there are plenty of mouthwatering fixtures to get excited about – not least the Yorkshire derby between Moore’s side and the Whites.

Darren Moore looks ahead to 2023/24 Championship season

Speaking after Monday’s play-off final victory, the Owls boss admitted that the Championship would be tough next term but the sort of challenge that a club like Wednesday should be taking on.

He also revealed that he’d not thought about Leeds and Leicester’s relegation until after his own team’s promotion had been secured.

“Absolutely, that’s what we want,” he said of the challenge facing them in 2023/24.

“And you know, I didn’t even think who had come down from the Premier League but since coming up, things like that are dawning on me.

“There are some big games, there are some special games. When you look at the Championship now, it looks like a real strong Championship with the teams that have come down.

“Us going up with the other teams up – ourselves, Ipswich, and Plymouth going up. You look at some of the games coming up and it’s really exciting.

“We look back at it, we draw breath, in terms of the fact we’re going into a really exciting campaign and that’s why for us a football club we need to make sure we get a lot of things right going up to that level.”

How will Sheffield Wednesday get on in the Championship next season?

It’s far too early to make a meaningful prediction on how the 2023/24 Championship season will play out but it certainly looks like as competitive a field as we’ve seen for some time.

Some Wednesday fans will be hoping their side can emulate Sunderland, who reached the play-offs in their first season back in the second flight, but Moore’s first target will be securing second tier status for the 2024/25 campaign.

Unless they do some brilliant summer business, it’s hard to see Wednesday competing with the very best in the Championship next season but it could well be a busy next few months at Hillsborough.