Sheff Wed boss issues response after Joey Barton’s criticism of Owls

Darren Moore says he respects Joey Barton despite his criticism of his Sheffield Wednesday side following their 2-1 win over his Bristol Rovers side on Tuesday.

The Owls won a crunch match at the Memorial Stadium, thanks to goals from Barry Bananan and Akin Famewo, with Aaron Collins' second-half goal only acting as a consolation in the end. John Marquis had a goal ruled out for offside which Barton disagreed with, and ultimately the men from Yorkshire left with a crucial three points.

Barton doubled down on Wednesday's style of play in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, and said that he would not want to try and emulate Derby County or Sheff Wed, in his pursuit of promotion. He described it as a 'badge of honour' that both sides came to the Mem, and tried to set up as a counter-attacking team, with the hosts allowed plenty of time on the ball.

“I’d just like to say ‘Thank you Joey for your kind words.,” said Moore in his press conference on Friday with fellow NationalWorld outlet The Star.

“We know Joey can be vocal. Listen, we wanted to go to Bristol and take three points. We took three points. He’s got his own reading of the game and that’s down to Joey, we’ve got no problem.

“We got the win in a difficult game. With him commenting on where we are, that’s understandable. I sincerely wish Joey all the best going forward, that goes for his team and his football club too. The work he’s doing is good, he’s got a lovely team and he’s taking the team forward in terms of the players he has down there, the style of player and he’s bringing the club together.”

Rovers boasted 66% possession against Sheffield Wednesday and had executed exactly double of the visitors passses with 574 in favour of 287. Wednesday had nine shots and three on target with two being their goal whilst Rovers had four on target from their eight attempts.

Moore added: “We had a job to do and that’s what we did. It was a hard game, but it was one we navigated well in terms of how we went down there with our approach. “There are certain games that are horses for courses and you have to be adaptable.” “It shows our adaptability in our team, where the boys can switch focus in terms of getting a job done and understanding what is required.

“You can catch your opposition unawares in terms of how you go about them. We certainly went down there with a different gameplan and it’s always nice that when a gameplan works. The gameplan worked and that was good for us.

“I have the utmost respect for Joey as he knows and I wish him and the club all the best going forward. They’ll continue to progress under him as manager.”