Sheffield Wednesday takeover race providing hunger for players who set revealing record v Preston North End
A further points deduction slapped on Sheffield Wednesday this week has served as another reminder of the club’s struggle - but the end in sight of those troubles is providing players with a motivation seen in their last two matches.
After a 12-point deduction automatically installed on the point of entering administration, the Owls were stripped of another six points this week to leave them on minus 10 in the Championship table, some 27 points short of the safety line. In a campaign that opened with little hope of survival, the new developments have left a pipedream for Wednesday’s beleaguered squad.
With 28 league matches remaining across the next six months, the central attention among many supporters has long since turned away from the pitch and towards the boardroom, where competing bids are vying to take over the club and take it out of administration. At pitch level, a desire to retain high standards of competition remains.
The Owls’ performance in the Steel City derby has inflicted bruises that have proven difficult to heal and the furious reaction of much of the fan base was made clear. But big-energy efforts in narrow defeats to Millwall and Preston North End last week showcased a group of players willing to keep up the fight; a combined physical output of 115km in the Preston game was a season-high.
“Of course it is disappointing that we get another points deduction, but for our daily life it has changed nothing,” manager Henrik Pedersen said. “We still want to come as high as possible in the league table and we want to make the best possible standard in training everyday, the best possible preparation for each game and the best possible individual development. In the daily life it means nothing, but to stay in the league it is more difficult. We have focus on what we can control and it is setting a high standard every day. We will continue to do this.
“The reaction (to the derby) has been fantastic. In the last game we made a new running record for the season. I know our boys and they are very, very hungry to make the best possible team and best result possible for Sheffield Wednesday. It is why we put so much into the goal-setting for the individual player, the individual feedback for players, group feedback and analysis.
“We do everything everyday at a high standard to keep everyone on the track and to use the potential of everyday. I am convinced we can keep up the hunger, discipline and belief. I have it - and they have it.”
The arrival of new owners to the club in the coming weeks will likely bring winds of change at all levels of the club, quite possibly in terms of personnel as well as the way the club is run. With a number of contracts expiring at the end of the season and with the desire for a bold new era no doubt likely, there are personal standards for players and coaches to reach for in terms of securing their place in whatever comes in League One next time out.
“Of course everyone is waiting to see who will be the next owner of Sheffield Wednesday,” Pedersen continued. “Everybody is waiting to get the perspective for the future. Right now we are in the process to find them and we are looking forward to knowing, but there is no information yet. We are using all our energy to prepare the best possible game. The boys are doing that very well in a difficult situation. There is big belief and big hope and everyone is looking forward to the future.”