Why Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen has 'a lot to look at' this pre-season
The Owls are due to return to pre-season training next month
Henrik Pedersen has got a lot to analyse in pre-season, believes Owls legend Chris Waddle.
The 2025/2026 campaign finished only one month ago but the players will be due to return to training in about four weeks as they prepare for the new season. The Carabao Cup kicks-off the new term in the first week of August before the league gets underway seven days later.
Sheffield Wednesday did not have a proper season last year because of all the uncertainty and turbulence surrounding the club’s ownership and financial situation. They did not play a single friendly in front of fans and the squad boycotted a match against Burnley over unpaid wages.
But the picture will be totally different this time, with Pedersen promising they will be doing a lot of running in the first couple of weeks. Hallam has confirmed Wednesday send a side to face them in July but no other dates have yet been confirmed, although they should be announced soon.
Reflecting on pre-season when he was a Marseille player, Owls favourite Waddle told The Star: “We would train three times a day. It was like half an hour, 40 minutes, an hour, it was put into segments, it wasn't a slog, it was getting your fitness over a course of 10 days. Then you went into friendlies, but obviously kept the work rate and the training upped a bit and then when the season starts you are ready to go.
“I'm sure Henrik will have plans to take them into a camp, if not, they'll be like we used to do. We used to go into the woods and run here, then everywhere. It is very important they have a good pre-season, and hopefully don't get injuries.”
With a big squad rebuild on the agenda this summer, fitness will not be the only point of focus. Pedersen will be tasked with finding the right personalities as well as implementing a style of player that suits them. He has already said that he would like to play a back four next season rather than a three-man defence.
“You use the friendlies as a way of designing your play,” Waddle continued. “There'll be some players who will get ahead of others, there'll be some players who you think aren't starting but do because they've had a good pre-season, and that's what Henrik will be looking at - the passion, the desire and the fitness levels.
“The confidence is a main part of a footballer - who's confident, who looks the part, so he's got a lot to look at. I'm sure the plans are made out for them to be not just getting fit, but looking at the players who want the shirt and who's got the confidence. to put that shirt on.”