Sheffield Wednesday: Sam Hutchinson and Darren Moore talk transfers, injuries, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and much more

Sam Hutchinson was on the scoresheet for Sheffield Wednesday.Sam Hutchinson was on the scoresheet for Sheffield Wednesday.
Sam Hutchinson was on the scoresheet for Sheffield Wednesday.
There’s plenty for Darren Moore to talk about as Sheffield Wednesday prepare to face Oxford United this weekend.

It’s been a busy week at Hillsborough, with the Owls managing to get their first signing through the door as they snapped up Jordan Storey on loan from Preston North End, while the news also broke of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s short-term contract and then of him subsequently penning a new deal at the club.

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Now, with Wednesday looking to build on the impressive 4-2 victory over Plymouth Argyle, they make the trip to Oxford on Saturday and should have some key players back available following their injury troubles recently.

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We’ll be chatting to the Owls boss at 1pm and then Sam Hutchinson not long afterwards, so you can stay tuned right here on our press day blog to follow everything that’s being said by the gaffer and fan favourite.

Keep up to date with it all on the blog below.

Darren Moore and Sam Hutchinson LIVE - Owls duo talk Oxford United

Key Events

  • Team news for the Oxford trip?
  • Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s future?
  • Jordan Storey’s arrival?

Do I enjoy it? Yes and no.

Yes, because it’s really nice when you do get deals done. But no, because it can be very time-consuming. It’s just one of those things that have to get done if you want to improve your squad.

It’s a process that can take up a lot of time - and when you’re trying to deal with other aspects of the club it can be hard. Once the window closes you’ve got what you’ve got and you get on with it.

I can put it all to bed... It’s been sorted since he’s been here. When I had him in behind the scenes and getting him fit, we just everything settled down.

We know what a good player he can be, he’s somebody I’ve liked for a long time.

We carry on as normal.

DM on Hillsborough decision

It’s huge... The role that Hillsborough plays for us is huge. It’s big for the community, but it’s part of how the club is looked at in the football pyramid.

I’m proud, and it’s a wonderful moment for the community. It’s a special landmark, and yeah, I’m really pleased.

Without a doubt we need to improve that. Winning games, home or away, is something we want to do. We’re here to win games, so we definitely need to improve. That has to be our mindset.

We’ve worked again this week, and we have a different hurdle against Oxford.

It’d be nice to follow up on the Plymouth game, but it’s against difficult opponent with a really experienced manager. They get the ball down and play, and they have some good individuals in their team.

We feel like we’ll have to be at our best to come away with anything.

I’m really pleased that people got to see what he can do... I’ve always liked him as a player, and we’ve been building him up behind the scenes.

For him, with the training and the games, he can only get stronger. There’s more to come.

DM on Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

His contract has always been sorted since he’s come here... All I can say is that it’s a situation that’s been sorted since day one. I can say it now and we move on.

He’s our player.

DM on other additions

I can’t say how many more we want to bring in, but I don’t want to give anybody any false hope.

We’ve worked hard this week to get Jordan in, and now we’ve turned our attentions to another game.

If there’s any player coming available that’s of any quality, then we’ll add - I won’t say any specific position.

I’m pleased to get it done - it’s an area of the pitch that was identified in terms of what we needed. To get him in was really pleasing.

We fought off competition for him, so I’m really pleased.

He’s dominant, he’s quite aggressive in terms of his aerial contacts, moves well and covers the ground well. He’s got a wonderful appetite and desire for the game.

With me being a former centre back, I want to get to work with him and hopefully further enhance his game. He’s brought competition to the team.

He’s fine, as the days and weeks go by. He took his goal really well, played really well, and he’s just getting his fitness back.

He’s had another full week of training, and he’s fit.