Henrik Pedersen hints at Sheffield Wednesday plan vs Brentford amid youth question
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to enjoy a rare break from the Championship when they face Brentford in the FA Cup.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has played down the prospect of filling his starting XI for Saturday’s FA Cup third round clash against Brentford with the club’s younger players amid increasing calls for him to give them more minutes.
The Premier League Bees will visit Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon for what will be a very first FA Cup meeting between the two clubs.
Sitting bottom of the Championship and hurtling towards relegation after having 18 points deducted, leaving them on -7 after 25 games, the FA Cup could be a welcome distraction for Wednesday’s players and boss Pedersen, who have been left to navigate their way through the mess created by former owner Dejphon Chansiri.
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The FA Cup offers financial rewards that will be beneficial to the Owls at this particular juncture, meaning there is an argument for them to try and pour everything they possibly can into the clash with Keith Andrews’ side.
On the flip side of that, Wednesday, of course, are down to the bare-bones in terms of senior players, meaning alternative arguments have been put forward for Pedersen to rest the likes of Dominic Iorfa, Liam Palmer, Barry Bannan and Jamal Lowe, each of whom have been ran into the ground in recent months amid the club’s small number of senior players.
Pedersen hints at Brentford approach
An increasing number of Wednesday supporters have put forward suggestions that the visit of Brentford is an ideal opportunity for Pedersen to field a starting XI made up of predominantly youth players, claiming it is the perfect opportunity to see what the club’s youngsters are capable of.
However, Pedersen appeared to play down the chances of naming a youthful starting XI against the Bees, although he conceded it will all depend on the condition of his players’ fitness as the weekend approaches.
Asked if the clash with Brentford offers him an opportunity to start more of the club’s young players, Pedersen told The Star: “There are not many positions where we can still change. When there's only three senior players in the squad, we can only put a maximum of three more in because the other seven are young players.
“So let's see when everyone has recovered Thursday, Friday, how the senior players are feeling, and then we will make a solution later.”