Sheffield Wednesday coaching changes hinted at with comings and goings confirmed
Henrik Pedersen has hinted at tweaks to the coaching structure at Sheffield Wednesday after coming and goings were confirmed in the last weeks.
Set piece coach Andy Parslow confirmed his departure from the club on Tuesday after a year with the club, citing his need to put family first amid ‘difficult circumstances’ at S6. His exit comes after the long-awaited arrivals of Craig Mudd, Pete Shuttleworth and goalkeeping coach Darryl Flahavan to Pedersen’s coaching team.
Those arrivals have given Pedersen wider options in terms of how he sets up training sessions and spoke glowingly around the skillsets his new backroom team have pulled together. The hope is that after a long delay a full coaching staff can further build on the competitive spirit shown by the Owls in the early stages of what is set to be a fiercely difficult campaign.
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Andy Holdsworth, Giles Coke and Ben Ledger made the step up from the club’s academy ranks ahead of the three new arrivals. Both Holdsworth and Coke have been spotted on matchdays since.
“We have a fantastic team now,” Pedersen told The Star. “Flav coming in, Muddy is doing a really good job in the tactical on-pitch and individual and group meetings. Pete does really well on the pitch but also tactical, a lot of individual and smaller group meetings where he goes into more detail with the players. Andy has grown a lot, he does an amazing job for the individual stuff with the players and organises with Muddy and Pete to get a good individual feedback.
“Giles works with the younger players but does all he can in daily training with the first team. He's really good to go into the dressing room and have a conversation with the different players - it is not so many years since he was playing and he is strong in this part of the game.
“We are growing here. It means I can take one or two steps backwards and observe instead of always being involved in all exercises. It is a benefit to see things more from a distance. The players now do not only hear my voice, but also from the other coaches and this is good for us, it gives us a lot.”
Pedersen suggested after his arrival that there would ultimately be a fusing of existing Wednesday staff and new faces. The arrival of new faces has left questions on whether the roles of Holdsworth and or Coke could be adjusted and the Danish boss suggested things could be tweaked - and revealed in due course.
“Very soon will bring an update of an organisation plan,” he said. “When we come back from the international break will will have that plan, but these guys are a very important part for the first team players and academy players.”