Video: Why Glenn Loovens is STILL so important to this Sheffield Wednesday team

However, of late and now at the age of 34, Glenn Loovens’ ability to deal with the cut and thrust of Championship football has been brought into question by some supporters.

Already this season the Dutchman has twice been sent off and on both occasions it was a lack of pace which played its part in receiving the red cards - against Derby County and Sheffield United.

Then, last Saturday, with the team 2-0 down to Birmingham City, it was Loovens who was sacrificed from the backline as Wednesady went chasing the game - the skipper being replaced by Lucas Joao after just 26 minutes.

There’s no doubting that Loovens’ best days are behind him, but according to the newest member of the Owls squad, the former Celtic and Cardiff City defender still has a very prominent role to play at Hillsborough and his importance to this team should not be underestimated.

“Glenn is a big name in Holland as he played for Feyenoord, who are one of the biggest clubs and after he played for Celtic and Cardiff City,” said new Owls midfielder Joey Pelupessy.

“He’s a big name and the fans know he is playing here. He is 34 now, I think and everyone is looking up to him. He is a big name in Holland and for me also.”

Pelupessy, who signed in the January transfer window from Dutch side Heracles Almelo, added: “I think he is really important.

“It is a little bit difficult to say as I have been here for only three weeks, but you can really see he is the captain.

“Everything he says, the team picks it up. He is doing everything for the team and he is really important.

“In the dressing room, he is a little bit louder. But he is quiet and that is his style, I think.

“If he says something, then it is 100 per cent true. He is quiet, but the things he says are direct and everybody knows he is right. He is very important.”

Understandably, as Pelupessy settles into life in a new country, his compatriots have been doing their bit, with Loovens, who is likely to miss this weekend’s South Yorkshire derby with Barnsley having not trained this week through illness, and Joost van Aken helping the 24-year-old get used to Sheffield.

“(They have helped) a lot,” he said. “I know Joost van Aken from Holland and he is my age, so I played against him in youth teams.

“I didn’t know Glenn Loovens personally, but he knows everything and is helping me with my car, house and everything I need. It is making it easier for me.”

Pelupessy arrived here a week after the Steel City derby, so Saturday’s short trip up the road to Oakwell will be his first taste of a British derby.

And the tigerish midfielder is keen to get stuck in.

“Of course, it is very important and I like it that it is a game which is twenty minutes by bus to play,” he said.

“I think a lot of fans will also go to Barnsley and it says how important and big the game is. These are games you want to play in as a football player and I look forward to it.”

He added, of his previous derby experiences: “Of course, I played with Heracles against FC Twente, which is another of my former clubs. I like these games and the fans are crazy and there are a lot of tackles and things like that. It is almost a little bit more than the normal games. I look forward to it, of course.”

Wednesday are a lot closer to Barnsley near the bottom than they would have liked to be and Pelupessy believes it is important to put some breathing space between the two sides.

“We have to win some games and this Saturday, we have to play against Barnsley and the difference is six points. If we win some games like that, then we can look a little bit upwards.”