The Owls, who finished third in the table, ended the regular season with four consecutive wins.
“We have pushed for 46 games to get here and now we want continue that momentum,” said Moore.
“We come into the play-offs with good momentum, and good form and that is what you want.
“But even with that good form, we want to continue to get better, and that is the consistent message at this football club.”
Sunday’s 2-0 win at Barnsley enabled Peterborough to leapfrog Derby into sixth place with a helping hand from Wednesday, who beat the Rams 1-0.
Moore, however, will hope that is as far as his side’s charity extends, having seen them finish 19 points clear of their semi-final opponents and just two adrift of second-placed Ipswich.
Wednesday, who lost out to Sunderland at the same stage last season, will be favourites to progress.
“This is what we sign up for,” added Moore. “When you come to Sheffield Wednesday, you have to embrace the expectancy and we have certainly done that.
“We know the passion the city holds for this football club. I live in the city, I feel it, I know it, I enjoy it, and I understand it.
“The players certainly want to be remembered, and the only way to do that is with success.”
Peterborough’s last-gasp surge into the play-offs represents a triumph for persistence.
Manager Darren Ferguson, who resigned in February last year with the club slipping towards the Championship exit, returned for a fourth spell in charge in January following successor Grant McCann’s departure.
Ferguson said: “This is not a time to take a step back. We are three wins away from a great achievement.
“We were back to work straight after celebrating the Barnsley win and we will be ready for a very big challenge.”
The Birmingham-born former defender, who twice represented the Reggae Boyz in 1999, leaves the West Yorkshire team with just three league triumphs in 23 games since taking charge last September.
He was sacked following a winless six-match run, culminating in the weekend’s 1-1 draw at struggling QPR when a stoppage time equalizer denied the 49-year-old a long overdue victory.
The former West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday boss and his backroom staff leave after four months of seeing his side stutter during his 23-game tenure.
Having led Wednesday to promotion to the Championship last term via the play-offs, Moore took over from veteran Neil Warnock at the John Smith's Stadium.
Huddersfield had managed to stave off relegation from the second tier, while in contrast Moore masterminded a gutsy extra time 1-0 success over Barnsley Town in their League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
Although that seemed to be the start of something special for Moore — who played for the likes of Barnsley, Derby County, Portsmouth and WBA at club level — he left Wednesday by mutual consent after two years at the helm.
His appointment at Huddersfield was always deemed to be a gamble, which has now failed to pay dividends.
Huddersfield Town AFC’s official statement read: “Darren Moore has been relieved of his duties as Huddersfield Town manager.
“This decision was taken after our Sky Bet Championship draw at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, which took Moore’s record as Town manager to three wins, 11 draws and nine defeats in all competitions.”
Moore kicked off his managerial career at WBA in 2018, having cut his teeth as interim head coach with the Premier League club to become only the second top-tier boss from the CONCACAF region. American Bob Bradley was the first head coach from the Caribbean and North American region, when he managed Swansea City in 2016.
Moore surprisingly left The Hawthorns in 2019 with 10 games remaining in the Championship and WBA in with a shot of automatic promotion in fourth place.
He joined League One outfit Doncaster Rovers a few months later, then was headhunted by Wednesday so jumped ship in March 2021.
Despite a highly successful stint at Wednesday, Moore left the promoted club in June because he failed to agree terms of a potential contract renewal with chairman Dejphon Chansiri.
Moore’s managerial career may have taken a blip, but with a proven track record of transforming the fortunes of teams outside the top-tier there’s little doubt he’ll be a wanted man soon in the British game.
The Owls manager was racially abused after his side lost their Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final first leg 4-0 at Peterborough last Friday night, with Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri also the subject of vile messages.
Wednesday have banned the individual responsible for Moore’s abuse while also involving the police and are carrying out the same process with Chansiri’s abuser.
Moore, who has thanked the club and fans for their support, says the work to stop these types of incidents is ongoing.
“It would seem too easy, the perpetrators can create these anonymous accounts,” Moore said. “We are trying to work hard to shut these things down. People in the social spotlight at clubs are trying to work hard to shut these down.
“It is too easy but we are doing good work. There is still a lot of work to be done because it is a problem that has raised its head again.
“We want to talk about the social-media platforms as a positive and not a negative. We are trying to promote those positive messages for the next generation.
“I thank the club for standing with me. It is something for me that I didn’t see, but it was spotted, the club have worked closely with the governing bodies and they have acted really sharp on it. We have done our bit as best we can to try and combat this.
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“I didn’t read it because it is looking back and you are spending energy on something that doesn’t really need energy on it.
“I am fine, what I am going to say is thank you to all the supportive messages that have come in.
“I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support, thank you so much to friends, to fans not just at Sheffield Wednesday, all over really.”
The abuse came after Wednesday’s promotion hopes were left in tatters following the first-leg spanking and they face the unenviable task of trying to overcome their 4-0 deficit at Hillsborough on Thursday night.
The Owls racked up 96 points during the regular campaign, which would have been enough to win promotion in any of last 30 years, but Moore’s position will come under scrutiny if they do not pull off mission impossible.
Whatever happens, Moore wants to stay at the club.
“Absolutely 100 per cent, without a doubt. It’s a wonderful, beautiful club, it has a wonderful passionate fanbase and and when you see the fanbase you understand the magnitude of this football club,” he said.
“The club is to be embraced in the history, the nostalgia and what it stands for in the pyramid of football.
“To be a manager of this football club is an absolute honour and that is why I have always gone about my business working tirelessly. Over the two seasons there have been significant changes, but I have got a real love and affection for this football club because of the tremendous fanbase.”
Moore, who took over the position from caretaker boss Neil Thompson, became the club's third manager, of a turbulent 2021 campaign, last week. The Owls had been without a manager since December 28 following the sacking of Tony Pulis after 10 matches. The Jamaican opted to leave League One side Doncaster Rovers, who he had lifted to a playoff position.
Despite not having played in the Premier League since 2000, Sheffield Wednesday are one of England’s traditional clubs and has four top-flight titles. Having lost four of the last five matches, however, the team is currently in the relegation zone and six points adrift of safety.
“It’s a huge challenge but what I will say to everyone connected to this wonderful football club is that what has gone on has gone on, and there’s nothing that we can do about that because it’s gone. It's time to come together as one because we all have a love and desire for this football club,” Moore told the club’s official website in a recent interview.
“It wonderful when the work that you are doing is recognised by a club of this size and structure and all I want to do is continue to do what I have been doing and that is working hard, giving Sheffield Wednesday every ounce of myself in terms of getting the club going and moving forward,” he added.
Moore previously had a spell with West Bromwich Albion where he took over as caretaker manager from Allan Pardew in 2018. This made him the first-ever Jamaican to manage in the Premier League.
The pair go head-to-head at Wembley on Monday when the two South Yorkshire rivals clash in the third tier’s winner-takes-all season finale.
Barnsley edged past Bolton 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, while Wednesday overcame the biggest first-leg deficit in play-off history before beating Peterborough on penalties.
Moore silenced the Owls fans who had called for him to be sacked after his side’s 4-0 first-leg defeat appeared to have left them dead and buried and Duff paid tribute to his rival manager.
Duff said: “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.
“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.”
Barnsley completed the league double over the Owls this season for the first time since 2009, winning 2-0 at Hillsborough in September and 4-2 at Oakwell in March.
But they finished 10 points adrift of their local rivals in the table, with the Owls’ 96-point tally more than any other side not to finish in the top two of any league in English football’s history.
That did not stop the vitriol that came Moore’s way after his side’s 4-0 semi-final first-leg defeat at Peterborough.
Some fans called for his head before the return leg, while Wednesday were forced to issue a statement condemning a racist message directed at Moore on social media.
“It shows you the emotional state people can get into,” Duff said. “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.”
Barnsley finished fourth in the table, one place below Wednesday, and their 86-point haul would have been enough for automatic promotion in three of the last 10 seasons.
Ten-man Sheffield Wednesday suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Reading on Saturday, which marked a second straight defeat for Moore. The former Jamaica international began his tenure at the club on Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to 10-man Rotherham.
The results left the team second from the bottom of the table and eight points adrift of safety. Moore, who took over the position from caretaker boss Neil Thompson, became the club’s third manager of a turbulent 2021 campaign. The Owls had been without a manager since December 28 following the sacking of Tony Pulis after 10 matches.
“All the odds are stacked against us, but we’re still in there with a fighting chance. We have to work. We’ve had a few days, a lot has gone on and it has been a big week. I’ve seen a desire in the group, they’ve not come for us, but we have that pride. We have to continue that and move onto the next game,” Moore told the UK Star.
“It’s essential. We’ve had a tough week but it’s not been one that we haven’t been trying to put things right. That result is there for us. We have to get that belief back and show what they’re about moving forward.”
The individual behind the offending account has been barred from attending club fixtures and events as Wednesday said they stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Moore and would offer him their full support.
The club are working with police over the message that was sent in the aftermath of their League One play-off semi-final first-leg defeat.
A statement said: “Sheffield Wednesday are appalled by a repulsive racist message directed at Darren Moore posted on a social media platform following our game against Peterborough United on Friday evening.
“We distance ourselves absolutely from this kind of abhorrent behaviour and have taken the appropriate steps by issuing an immediate ban on the individual in question from all SWFC fixtures and events.
“Sheffield Wednesday stand shoulder to shoulder with Darren, the football family and wider society in condemning all forms of discrimination.
“The club will offer our full support to Darren and we are working together with the authorities in ensuring this individual faces the full force of the law as a result of such a cowardly and despicable act.”
Moore was appointed Wednesday boss in March 2021 when they were in the Championship but could not prevent their relegation at the end of that season.
His team face Posh in the second leg at Hillsborough on Thursday looking to overturn a 4-0 deficit as they bid to end their two-year stay in the third tier.
