The Owls are back in training...here’s what we spotted

Di’Shon Bernard up top, anyone?

If Sheffield Wednesday’s training this week is anything to go by, the Jamaican could definitely do a job. In the pouring rain at Middlewood Road, the centre-half coolly slotted in with both feet from all sorts of different angles. Perhaps he’s been secretly practicing during his 19 months out?

Despite the horrid weather, the vibes were high on Wednesday’s return to training this week after some rest days. Henrik Pedersen joked that Jaden Heskey had brought the weather with him from Manchester.

Before the international break, Pedersen told The Star they had not been able to train with the intensity they wanted because of the busy start to the season. Therefore, he was looking forward to getting some hard work done in this period. Top of his list was speeding up their play, the Dane admitting they had not moved the ball quickly enough in the successive home goalless draws against Wigan Athletic and Stockport County.

So it was no surprise to see them being put through their paces, first with small-sided passing drills and games, with coach Andy Holdsworth reiterating the focus was on ‘speed’ and creating overloads. Another drill saw them work their way up a bigger-sized pitch - at speed- with Davis Keillor-Dunn finishing off one move in the box. The experiment of playing ‘DKD’ out wide is over, it seems. Again, the message was to ‘speed it up’ and to get ‘bodies in the box’. They did this again and again. Repetition is key. The high press, or the ‘swarm’, was successfully on show in another exercise, with DKD getting a shot off as a result.

Other moments noticed included a lovely dummy by Barry Bannan, who let the ball run into Jamal Lowe and before curling in the return. The razor-sharp Lowe was seen practicing his Ivan Toney-like penalties. In a light-hearted moment, Mason Burstow bust a mannequin with a thunderous drive.

Away from the outfielders, Joe Lumley produced two or three eye-catching saves, with goalkeeping coaching Darryl Flahavan responding: “Do that on a Saturday and I’ll be happy!”

He was not the only one who was pleased, with Pedersen declaring himself ‘happy’ with how the last two sessions and gave them a ‘well done’ before sending them on their way. So...how about Dish as a number nine, then?