Michael Duff opens up on Darren Moore

Barnsley manager Michael Duff has praised Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore ahead of the meeting between the pair in the League One play-off final at Wembley on Monday.

The Tykes secured their spot in the final with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final, while the Owls overturned a four-goal deficit as they staged a remarkable comeback in a 5-1 win over Peterborough United in the second leg at Hillsborough before winning 5-3 on penalties.

Wednesday accumulated 96 points during the regular season, a total which would have been enough for the League One title last campaign, but incredibly they missed out on automatic promotion, with a run of one win in eight games in March and April proving costly.

It had seemed as though their hopes of reaching the Championship were over after their first leg defeat to Posh, but they will now face Barnsley in a South Yorkshire derby at Wembley for a place in the second tier.

The Owls finished 10 points ahead of the Tykes in the table, but Duff’s side did the double over Wednesday this season with a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough in September before a 4-2 win at Oakwell in March.

What did Michael Duff say?

Duff commended Moore for his work this season and admitted he has been surprised by the criticism his opposite number has received.

“Darren deserves loads of credit because one thing he’s done the whole season, when weirdly there’s been a bit of noise about him when they got 96 points this season, is keep his counsel because he’s a good fella,” Duff told Yorkshire Live.

“First and foremost, he’s a good fella. He’s obviously a football man, he’s been around it a long, long time.

“I don’t know what he’s like as a manager in terms of day-to-day stuff, but you take people as you find them and we’ve beaten them twice and he’s been humble, he’s taken it.

“He says ‘fair play to you’ and shakes your hand. No excuses afterwards that some managers come out with. He said ‘better team won’ and I think that goes a long way just as a human being.”

“It shows you the emotional state people can get into,” Duff added. “Darren’s a good manager, full stop.

“Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he’s become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them.

“Things he said in interviews and in the dressing room, things he showed the players. Good management. He managed to get the best out of it.”

Will Barnsley beat Sheffield Wednesday?

This is an incredibly difficult game to call.

Wednesday will have momentum and belief after their semi-final comeback, but the Tykes have a huge psychological advantage having already beaten the Owls twice this season and they have been one of the form teams in the division in recent months.

With little to separate the sides, it could be a tight encounter at Wembley and it could be decided by who handles the pressure of the occasion.

The mutual respect between the managers is clear and regardless of the outcome on Monday, both have done an outstanding job with their respective teams this campaign.