Spite and battle to Sheffield Wednesday training as Henrik Pedersen shows ruthless streak
The Sheffield Wednesday pre-season programme continues in Hungary. Alex Miller witnessed a Wednesday morning session that had a little more bite than what we’d seen before.
The sessions Sheffield Wednesday are working through have been outlined for some time. The very drills and movements the players are carrying out at a training ground just outside Budapest were drawn-up and locked-in four weeks ago.
There are things being done differently on pre-seasons past. Where pre-season sessions past might have featured a limber-up out on the field or a go-slow first few minutes to ease players in, that work is already done thanks to the scheduling of a half-hour warm-through in the gym. Players arrive to the training pitch with heart rates raised and ready to go - the idea is that once they cross the white line it’s all business.
There were small-sided games and a competitive edge in the early stages. Old tales of Harry Gray having the youthful temerity to flick and trick his way around Leeds United seniors of old seem to have carried forward - his nutmeg of Barry Bannan earned a gasp of approval from those around the drill and also a snapping revenge tackle from the Scot a few minutes later.
The session served as a continuation of yesterday’s work on the technicalities of moving through transition and in opening-up opportunities when possession is won. There was more bite to it and real scoring opportunities were delivered, Louie Barry cheekily flicking through the legs of Cameron Dawson to a four-letter reaction, Max Lowe swazzing one into the stanchion to leave Joe Lumley with his head in hands.
You could see the progression of what they were building on, moving into a drill that pitted Wednesday’s press against Wednesday’s build-up. Professional footballers are competitive beasts and there was snapping at heels. It seems to be a spirit Henrik Pedersen demands, the Dane never far from bellowing if he feels the intensity dips or if an individual is mellowing in his approach. The ‘soft and sweet’ press conference persona doesn’t translate behind the scenes.
The breadth of profiles within the squad was clear throughout the session, with players young and players old working through things together. Liam Cooper was seen pulling Cole McGhee to the side to deliver some advice, Ricardo Santos later demanded more from Sean Fusire. That sharp professional competitiveness didn’t discriminate across the age divide; Liam Palmer snapped his way through Jarvis Thornton after the youngster had held onto the ball a fraction long.
An 11 v 11 exercise split the squad in two and saw both sides seek to play through the pitch, a focus on their pressing and transition battles. Bannan tussled with new boy Callum Slattery, Lumley and Dawson bellowed instructions from the back. The blues beat the oranges across four quarters of increasing demand, moments were laboured but coaches screamed for more at every opportunity. There was no let-up. Will Grainger was perhaps the stand-out, linking up nicely with Gray who operated off the left.
This, Pedersen explained to us afterwards, was a ‘culture game’, deliberately pinned for the end of a session in what has already been a testing, physical week in order to test the players’ attitude and fortitude with scenarios against them. Fresh demands are being placed on a squad that went through a great deal last season but were handled with care given the circumstances - this is a new start with a new rocket all round.
The whistle is blown and with legs laboured and sweat glistening, a sharp de-brief ends to the relief of those in boots. It felt a session a touch edgier than yesterday’s. Ice baths scheduled for his players, Pedersen headed off into the gym for a workout of his own. It’s all go.