Another crowd of more than 30,000 supporters watched Sheffield Wednesday stay top of League One with their goalless draw with Wigan Athletic.

It represents the third attendance above that figure in as many home league matches so far this season - with their average attendance of 31,306 placing the Owls second in the EFL crowds table behind only West Ham United.

In very different circumstances Wednesday balanced out at an average attendance of 23,830 last season in the Championship, a figure dwindled by mass fan protest against the ownership of ousted former owner Dejphon Chansiri and even then boosted by the two 30,000 or more attendances - for the Steel City Derby and the 33,750-strong outing for the ‘Takeover Day’ celebration clash against West Brom on May 2.

Correspondence from the club early this week suggests another near-capacity crowd for Saturday’s welcoming of Stockport County, with confirmation made that the club will continue to make the West Stand Lower available to home supporters only for the remainder of the League One season due to demand. In recent years that stand has been made available only on major matchday listings - and was more often made available to away supporters.

A release on the club’s website reads in part: “Our support home and away has been phenomenal this season and another crowd surpassing the 30,000-barrier is expected next time out. Given the demand from Wednesdayites and to provide additional options for fans with attendances high, tickets for the Lower West Stand will now be made available to home supporters for all league fixtures.”

The kick-up in attendances has been underpinned by a remarkable take-up in season ticket sales, which reached record numbers heading into the season off the back of the takeover of the club by US consortium Arise Capital Partners. The visit of Stockport will provide a stern test to an Owls outfit who have raced to the top of the third tier table in these early stages of the campaign despite a season of great upheaval.