Sheffield Wednesday manager comments on one aspect of Stockport County draw that was 'not part of the plan'
More reaction from the weekend’s action...
Henrik Pedersen commented on one aspect of Sheffield Wednesday’s play that frustrated Owls fans against Stockport County.
Wednesday drew their second successive match goalless on Saturday, leaving them second in the League One table after the first seven games of the new season. They now have a three-week break before their next league fixture away at Huddersfield on October 10. However, they have two EFL Trophy matches before then, starting at Salford City on Tuesday night.
Supporters are pleased with their league position, with most pleasantly surprised that they are sitting in the automatic promotion places in the early part of the campaign. But the last two performances, particularly from an attacking perspective, have been disappointing.
On Saturday there were grumbles and boos from the home stands from some who felt that goalkeeper Joe Lumley could have played the ball out from the back quicker. In the first-half, The Owls stopper cut a frustrated figure at times, throwing his arms in the air as he urged his team-mates to provide him with more options. In the end, Lumley was often forced to kick it long.
When asked if Lumley had been told to be patient in his approach, Henrik Pedersen explained that this was not the intention and that the same accusation could have been leveled at all of his players, while also praising Stockport's setup.
He told The Star: “The whole squad would like to speed up the game much more. We want to play into the midfield with verticality, with intensity, so this is not how we want to do it. But they (Stockport) were well organised, and we struggled in this phase. And then we start to play too direct.”
Although some may disagree, Pedersen thought that there was an improvement in this after the break, but Wednesday still only managed one shot on target after half-time. Overall, they were outshot 18 to six and they only got into Stockport’s box eight times compared to County’s 26.
Pedersen added: “We saw in the second-half where we changed, that we start to play much quicker from the back, and it was much better. So it was not a part of the plan, but that's why we changed in the half, and it was better second half.”