Wrexham star Josh Windass shares Henrik Pedersen verdict and hails 'incredible' Sheffield Wednesday support
Former Sheffield Wednesday ace Josh Windass has opened up on Henrik Pedersen, the club’s supporters and his exit from Hillsborough.
Former Sheffield Wednesday attacker Josh Windass has revealed he remains in regular contact with manager Henrik Pedersen, insisting he is “doing an incredible job” at Hillsborough in testing circumstances.
Windass left the Owls almost a year ago after mutually terminating his contract alongside Michael Smith. Neither player had been paid on time in the previous months and they exercised options to submit their resignations and walk away on free transfers.
Windass, 32, was soon snapped up by Wrexham, joining the Welsh outfit on a three-year contract. He enjoyed a highly successful maiden season at the Racecourse Ground, plundering 16 Championship goals as they narrowly missed out on a play-off place.
The versatile attacker will always have a special place in the hearts of Wednesdayites after scoring a famous 123rd minute winner to seal promotion via the League One play-off final at Wembley in May 2023. That was one of 53 goals he scored during his Owls career.
Almost a year on from Windass’ departure, Wednesday have, of course, been relegated from the Championship after experiencing a season from hell amid the failings of former owner Dejphon Chansiri, who put the club into administration last October. However, the club has since been bought by US consortium Arise Capital Partners LLC and is looking forward to a brighter future.
Led by David Storch, Arise are set to persevere with Pedersen as manager next season, giving him the chance to build a squad in normal circumstances after a chaotic 12 months or so.
“I still speak to the manager quite often,” Windass told talkSPORT. “He is doing an incredible job under the circumstances.
“I know people say they haven’t won any games, but I think what people relate to in our country specifically is the beautiful struggle kind of thing.
“They have proven that no matter how down and out and how tough it has been, and the players obviously not necessarily being good enough this year to compete at the level, they have still given everything every single day, and that’s obviously people who watch all they want to see.”
Wednesday’s collective struggles over the last 12 months has meant supporters of other clubs, including those at Wrexham, have offered help and support. However, Windass has joked that might not be the case if the Owls launch a promotion bid next season.
“Because they have been so bad and it has been so tough for them, everybody has kind of supported them,” he continued. “If they spend £100million next year and won the league next year, that support wouldn’t be there anymore!
“They are massive. I obviously knew going from Rangers to there that I was going to a big club, but the away support especially is incredible every single week.
“They were on minus three points and they had 35,000 at Hillsborough watching them in a game against West Brom that meant absolutely nothing. I don’t think you get that in many places.”
Reflecting on his exit, Windass, accepting it was hard to leave Hillsborough in the way he did, added: “Yes, of course. The way I left the club, I didn’t want to leave in that way. I handed in my resignation for not being paid and then getting away on a free.
“In life, you have got to do what’s best for yourself and your family, and I had to do that at that moment in time, obviously, with the clubs that were interested.”