Deep breath necessary as Sheffield Wednesday enter transfer deadline countdown
Henrik Pedersen took a moment to choose his words carefully when asked of his feelings heading into the final days of Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer window.
The Danish coach was speaking to The Star following his side’s 1-0 defeat to play-off challenging Wrexham in another match that saw his beleaguered outfit scrap and battle their way to a competitive performance - but ultimately come up short in ending a run of eight matches without a goal. Their winless run is stretched to 23 matches in what has been a hugely difficult campaign for all involved.
Immediate focus now shifts to the final two days of the transfer window and what Wednesday’s already decimated squad might look like when all is done. Key players are linked with the exit door and sales are necessary to safeguard against a potential cashflow shortfall in the event the preferred bidders fail their vetting stage and the administration process is subsequently extended.
Svante Ingelsson, Yan Valery and Ike Ugbo are among the Owls players who could leave the club as well as young forward Bailey Cadamarteri, who took his time leaving the Hillsborough pitch and applauding the home supporters. Bids have been rejected for both him and Ingelsson, though after the departures of bright talent Yisa Alao and club legend Barry Bannan, further departures are expected.
Asked how he would describe his feelings heading into the last throes of the window, Pedersen took a deep breath before telling The Star: “It is a good question. I am hopeful. I am hopeful that we will get two boys in who can support us and that we don’t lose too many.”
The Danish coach said he had no update on what was likely to happen with outgoing players beyond a Friday afternoon press conference in which he admitted sales would be good for the future ‘security’ of the club. The club’s administrators are actively looking to move players on and though bids received have not yet been deemed acceptable, further activity is expected before the 7pm Monday deadline.
On the match itself, Pedersen saw positives in a performance that followed a tough week. Bannan’s departure will have had a marked impact on the feel of life behind the scenes and uncertainty over the futures of big players has served as an added distraction. The stats again do not make for pleasant reading for Wednesday supporters - but the manager saw signs of encouragement.
Asked whether he felt his team were capable of winning more Championship points, Pedersen said: “I am sure they are. I see the boys every day and how they are working every day. Yes it is very, very difficult.
“But I see today against Wrexham, a top six team, with such money in this team. We compete so well. It's one thing not to lose, but that we created something against a team like this is a positive. We are working on how we are going to be better on the ball, better situations, winning the ball high up. We will keep on going and I am sure we will develop step by steps and take some points in these 17 games.”
“Sometimes when we have been 1-0 down, we have been down and we do not create anything. Today we did, we had the set pieces, we could have scored. The general picture was that we competed well and we had more threat, we had more players higher up and some good pressing situations. There were good things in the right direction to getting points in the Championship.”