Sheffield Wednesday stalwart 'praying' for new era of ‘positivity’ and ambition’ as takeover edges closer
Long-serving Owls defender is hoping for a bright future for the club
Everyone at Sheffield Wednesday is ‘praying’ for a new era of ‘positivity’ and ambition’, says Owls stalwart Liam Palmer.
The club is getting closer to being taken over by Arise Capital Partners, led by American businessman David Storch. Mr Storch, his son Michael, and Tom Costin have been aiming to get a deal done before their own self-imposed deadline of May 1 and the process is making progress.
It has been a long, draining season for Wednesday after entering administration, but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel. They finish the campaign at home to West Brom on Saturday, and if the takeover is completed, it will bring a feelgood factor to a sold-out Hillsborough.
On the pitch, they are determined to get a first home win of the season to give their devoted supporters something else to celebrate heading into the summer.
“We are desperate to get that win at home,” Palmer told The Star. “It's going to be a full house, everybody there to support, and hopefully some good news in terms of the owners that everybody's hoping and praying for and lead the club into a new era positivity and ambition.”
“I think the manager probably knows more than most (about the takeover). He's in direct contact with them, we just try and control what we can as players. That's something we've tried to do throughout the whole season. Hopefully things get sorted and we can move forward.”
If everything goes to plan, it promises to be one of, if not the biggest rebuilds the club has ever experienced, with so much work to do on and off the pitch ahead of returning to League One.
Palmer continued: “It is a big summer ahead for the club. A lot to think about, a lot for the prospective owners and manager to navigate, but I'm confident we'll be able to move forward again next year as a club and start to get back to where we want to be. “
Palmer, who is now second on the club’s all-time appearance list with 508, was presented with an outstanding achievement award at The Star’s sports awards earlier this week. Only Andrew Wilson (546) has played more.
The versatile defender is someone who manager Henrik Pedersen says has grown as a leader in testing times. The 34-year-old has been through lots of highs and lows in his 16 years as a professional at the club and he is eager to reward the fans for their loyal support this season.
He added: “I think a lot of uncertainty is not good for the club or the fans. I think one thing that has been a constant throughout has been the fans, they've travelled in thousands even when games have not been going well.”