Sheffield Wednesday are searching for their first league victory since September as they face off against promotion hopefuls Hull City

It’s been a bleak season for the Owls, who tasted their 28th defeat of the season against Ipswich Town last time out.

Relegation to the third-tier is already confirmed, but there’s still pride to play for as both the players and manager aim to show that they are capable of being part of the new regime next season, which could well be led by preferred bidder David Storch providing everything gets over the line.

Manager Henrik Pedersen, who bravely picked up the baton when Danny Rohl departed last season, said: “It's going to be a big, big task to rebuild Sheffield Wednesday. It's with the stadium, the training facilities, everything, you have to start over again, but it could be big.”

For the time being, Wednesday fans are in need of a lift, and they’ll be looking at this weekend’s trip to Hull City’s MKM Stadium as a potential opportunity to pick up some points.

The Tigers notably fell to a 3-0 defeat against relegation strugglers West Brom at the weekend, and have shown increased signs of vulnerability after losses to Millwall and Ipswich Town as well in recent weeks.

Dean Whitestone has been tasked with overseeing this weekend’s match as referee. He’s one of the most experienced officials in the second-tier having overseen more than 500 matches in his career so far.

The Northampton-based official has been refereeing in the Football League for 20 years since making his debut in 2006.

He’s taken charge of 17 Championship matches this season, producing a total of 55 yellow cards and two red cards so far, averaging 3.24 bookings per game.

Whitestone has refereed two Wednesday matches this season so far, with the Owls falling to a 1-0 defeat against Blackburn Rovers in February, while earning a 1-1 draw against Watford in December.

The official notably hit the headlines during the Watford match after booking the wrong Owls player. The incident saw Sean Fusire receive a card for a foul on Marc Bola that won the Hornets a second-half penalty, but it was actually Liam Palmer who committed the offence.

An FA statement at the time read: “An independent Regulatory Commission has upheld a claim of mistaken identity in relation to Sheffield Wednesday FC's Sean Fusire. The player was cautioned during their EFL Championship fixture against Watford FC on Tuesday 9 December for unsporting behaviour.

“This would have been Sean Fusire's fifth caution this season, which ordinarily results in suspension, but it has now been transferred to Liam Palmer following the successful claim of mistaken identity.”

This time around, Whitestone will work alongside assistants Darren Williams and David Harrison along with fourth official Steven Copeland.

Sheffield Wednesday last faced Hull City on Boxing Day at Hillsborough. On that occasion, they earned a 2-2 draw after twice going in front through Svante Ingelsson and Bailey Cadamarteri before being pegged back through Mohamed Belloumi and Matt Crooks.