It is vital the Owls get this managerial appointment right - Dom Howson's Sheffield Wednesday column

Makes no bones about it - this is one of the biggest and most important managerial appointment at Hillsborough in years.
Dejphon ChansiriDejphon Chansiri
Dejphon Chansiri

Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri has ploughed millions and millions of pounds into transforming the club’s fortunes. He is desperate for Wednesday to be successful and his heart is in the right place.

But it is critical the Thai businessman brings in the right person to get the Owls back on track. Chansiri can’t afford to get this appointment wrong.

After two years of progress, Wednesday are in decline.

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And whoever comes in will inherit a bloated, injury-ravaged squad low on confidence. The next manager will need a minimum of two transfer windows to reshape the team and turn the Owls into a serious force at this level again. As they say, sometimes you have to go back before you go forward.

Some fringe players were handed an opportunity to impress against Burton Albion but they failed to seize their chance. It was a pathetic, embarrassing performance. Okay, an entire team missed out due to injury but it was still an inexplicably poor display.

Stand-in boss Lee Bullen said: “When you start talking about injuries, it sounds like you are looking for excuses or a get-out clause.

“The players we selected for this game who were in that squad were all experienced boys with thousands of games at this level. Some guys have had two or three promotions and Glenn [Loovens] has won the Uefa Cup with Eindhoven and played at Celtic. Ross Wallace played at Celtic. There are guys with vast experience in this league so there’s no excuses as a group.”

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It is a sorry state of affairs and fans are growing increasingly restless. Wednesdayites, are in the main, a pretty tolerant bunch as long as they see a hard-working, committed team giving everything for the cause. But a big section of the 20,000 plus supporters turned on the team against Burton and their frustrations’ are completely understandable. It is expensive to watch the Owls at S6 and the team are not giving them anything to shout about. This was the season where Wednesday were supposed to challenge for automatic promotion. Instead, they are languishing in 16th position and are just six points above the relegation zone. The Owls are a club in turmoil.

I understand Chansiri has already spoken to a number of different managers and looked at several candidates regarding the vacant managerial post. It is good he is taking his time and undertaking a thorough due diligence process.

It is imperative the new man brings everybody together.

At the moment, Wednesday feel like a club divided, not united.