'He has strategic thinking on how to develop a club and a team' - who is Sheffield Wednesday's new first team coach Craig Gardner?

Speculation that the 33-year-old would link-up with the Owls has been growing all week after Gardner left his position with the Blues on Monday – which coincided with Pulis being unveiled as Wednesday boss following the dismissal of Garry Monk.

But who is Gardner? Let’s take a look.

Who did Gardner play for?

The lifelong Birmingham City fan actually began his playing career at the Blues’ arch-rivals Aston Villa, where he clocked up 59 league appearances between 2005 and 2010 before making the switch to St Andrew’s.

He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with City for a fee reported to be £3m plus £500,000 in add-ons and spent a season-and-a-half with the club during his first spell, helping Alex McLeish’s side win the Carling Cup in March 2011 before leaving for Sunderland for £6m following Birmingham’s relegation from the Premier League.

Gardner spent three seasons on Wearside and scored 11 goals in 81 league games before returning to his native West Midlands in May 2014 to pen a three-year contract with West Bromwich Albion.

The Solihull-born midfielder made 78 league appearances for the Baggies – where he played for Pulis – and weighed in with six goals during his spell at the Hawthorns before he was allowed to move back to Birmingham in January 2017 on loan until the end of the season. The transfer was later made permanent when he signed a three-year deal with the Blues.

He made a further 53 appearances for City in all competitions and was appointed player-coach in November 2019.

What about his coaching career?

Gardner experienced life in the managerial hotseat when he ended last season as joint-caretaker manager at the Blues following the departure of Pep Clotet.

He said: “Now I have found a new bug, I have got the bug of coaching and I love it.

“I can bring a hunger, that youth into the coaching, I can relate to the players that are already on the pitch. I think I have shown that and hopefully the players enjoy it.”

What have others in the game said about Gardner?

Clotet, himself, described Gardner has having ‘strategic thinking on how to develop a club and a team’ and said he has the qualities to succeed in the dugout.

“He has experience from the point of view of seeing the game and understanding the tactical side of the game when he was playing. His midfield role he always valued good football and that is something that we are chasing.

“He understands the small tactical relationships with different positions. He’s taking a lot of responsibility as well with the technical work with the players when it comes to improving them on the crossing, passing and finishing.”

What does Tony Pulis say about Gardner?

“Craig is somebody I have great respect for, he is a top quality character. He's a young coach and very enthusiastic,” said Pulis.

“Coaching is a massive cross-section of opinion and it’s nice to have people questioning what you’re doing and how you do things.

"I was one of the youngest people ever to get my coaching badges and was always questioning my managers! I think it’s healthy."