Sheffield Wednesday 'very confident EFL charge will be resolved' as Garry Monk delivers rallying call to supporters

Speaking ahead of their clash with table-topping West Brom on Saturday, the 40-year-old delivered a passionate rallying call to everyone connected with the club, asking them to show a ‘collective togetherness’ as the club fights an EFL charge that sees them accused of manoeuvring their accounts to sidestep FFP regulations.

Monk revealed that the club are ‘very confident’ of a successful resolution to the issue, which if found guilty could see the Owls slapped with a points deduction that could all but end their hopes of play-off qualification.

He said: “We are going to have difficult moments, good moments, ups and downs, and hurdles put in front of you. We have to stick together. That’s not just the players and me as the manager, and the staff, it’s the fans. We have to have that collective togetherness, more than ever.

“We have to stick together and fight every hurdle we come across. We have to show the type of club we are. Everyone at the club can use that as motivation to be successful.”

The allegations centre on the circumstances around Sheffield Wednesday’s sale of Hillsborough for £60m. Some weeks ago the EFL extended a warning to the club confirming that they were reviewing the situation.

Monk said that the charge came as a shock to the club, and asked how important it was that the issue was dealt with swiftly, he said: “That’s what everyone wants. Football clarity is key to everything, but the club feels it has done everything possible that it can.

“The surprise comes from the fact the charges are actually from things which have been ratified and agreed by the EFL. The club will work through that with the EFL, communicate with them, and resolve the matter.

“Everyone at the club was surprised, they didn’t expect it - after going through a good period of communication, everything seemed to be on track and fine - then out of the blue, that comes.

“The message from the club to myself is that they are very confident that everything will get resolved.”