Former Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United pair on what Owls need to do after points deduction

But in taking a glance at Leeds United’s 2007/08 season as a blueprint of how to climb out of the situation they find themselves in ahead of the September 12 restart, they might find some useful parallels.

The Whites started that campaign in League One three points worse off than the current Wednesday outlook on -15 points, recovering well enough to reach the playoff final before losing out 1-0 to Doncaster Rovers.

It was a squad hastily thrown together and that involved two former Wednesday players, David Prutton and David Lucas, who spoke candidly to The Star about what it will take for Garry Monk and the Owls to overcome their 12-point deduction and forge the start of a new era at Hillsborough.

Prutton, now a Sky Sports pundit who joined the Owls just over a year after he left Elland Road, sees similarities between Wednesday’s current malaise and the one he found himself in at Leeds. He believes building a rapport with the fans will be vital in order to start chipping away at the deficit as quickly as possible.

“They're both fundamentally huge clubs,” he said. “Not only in Yorkshire but in English football. In both respects it's about the people that are there through thick and thin and that's the fans.

“Given Wednesday's recent flirtation with getting to the Premier League, it's fair to say that Leeds had fallen further, but what always stuck out at both clubs was the passion of that fanbase and if you can get them going. That's hugely important.

“That season at Leeds is always looked upon with a degree of fondness. It was the first stepping stone on the journey they've been on since.”

Much has been said about the need to hit a similar reset button at Sheffield Wednesday. Speaking last month Monk described the need to instil a ‘siege mentality’ within the club that starts from the changing room.

And Lucas, who joined Leeds at the start of that 2007/08 season having tasted promotion at S6 as one of the ‘Kings of Cardiff’ two seasons earlier, says that needs to be tapped into as the Wednesday squad is pieced together.

“One thing it did do is bring everyone together,” he said on the points deduction. “That changing room was as tight as the one I was in at Sheffield Wednesday. The adversity really banded us all together.

“It helped that we started well, that's important, we got that camaraderie going. These negatives can really turn out to be positives if you are able to get cracking and cultivate that mentality and culture you’re giving yourselves a good chance.”

The pair were free transfers at Leeds, brought in as part of a dramatic squad overhaul similar to the one facing Wednesday in the coming weeks. Prutton sees the reality of having to add players as a bonus, commenting that Wednesday’s size means that players will ‘walk over broken glass’ to sign despite the sanction.

As Leeds lost top scorer David Healy, he admitted it was vital that Wednesday unearth a replacement for Steven Fletcher, wherever he may come from.

Prutton, a former teammate of Monk’s at Southampton, said: “We had a lot of new guys that came in, which gave us fresh eyes on the situation and it wasn't a case of it being about survival straight away, it was a case of getting beyond that hurdle as quickly as possible, which we managed to do. There was no feeling sorry for yourself.

“The players had come from different backgrounds. Jermaine Beckford had come from non-league. We had other players like me that had had a taste of Premier League football and had had injuries and were trying to pick up the pieces of a career and move forward.

“I can't stress enough the importance of getting that dynamic going early doors, and that's something Garry will want to get right straight away. We were a bunch of ragamuffins that did well when pulled together.”

Monk’s mantra when it comes to transfer targets in the coming weeks has been ‘young, hungry and dynamic’. Asked whether the pressure of a points deduction might encourage the signing of some more experienced campaigners, Lucas said: “You've got to be careful with getting the kids in, they've got to be the right kids.

“At Wednesday we had Chris Brunt and Glenn Whelan who were big, big parts of that team. It's about hitting the right balance with your squad. You need the experience as well, definitely. It's the character more than the age I think.

“It was a good, solid group of lads [at Leeds]. Some good, old-fashioned campaigners in a lot of ways. Players came from all over and a lot of us had something to prove in different ways and that’s important.

“It was the same as what I’d had at Wednesday. You look at the lads that came in there in a short space of time and how we gelled together, that’s what they’ll be after.”

And asked about the impact the points deduction will have on transfer activity, Prutton took an optimistic view.

“There will be concerns over the calibre of player they'll be talking to but let's be honest, they've had higher-end players that haven't got them to the Premier League.

“Maybe it's a different way of trying to crack the same code, more emphasis on team than highly-paid individuals.

“Garry has a hell of a job. Having had the experience of Birmingham and other clubs, he'll hit this with positivity. It's a challenge he'll be relishing.”

MORE FROM OUR WEDNESDAY WRITING TEAM

Alex Miller: Arsenal bombshell highlights area Sheffield Wednesday chief Dejphon Chansiri deserves huge credit

Golf courses, City Hall and a cafe in Bridlington: Rob Jones on his 'surreal' time at Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday are late filing their accounts again - this is why

Editor's message: Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues. The Star is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions for unlimited access to Sheffield news and information online. Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.