Why Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen took a backseat in pre-season friendly
Two young Owls line-ups featured at Hallam on Tuesday night
Owls fans who attended the pre-season friendly against Hallam will have noticed manager Henrik Pedersen took a backseat.
Sheffield Wednesday fans packed out a sun-kissed Sandygate on Tuesday night to watch two young Owls line-ups in action in each half, with the under-21s in action first before the under-18s took over at the break. It was a competitive fixture played in the right spirit, ending in a goalless draw.
First-team coaches Pete Shuttleworth and Giles Coke led from the touchline as Pedersen watched on from behind. Shuttleworth and Cook were in constant dialogue, encouraging and instructing the young Owls throughout the contest.
“We have had a full training day today so we have just managed to split up who does what jobs because it has been a long day,” Shuttleworth explained. “Myself and Giles took the team. The gaffer was in the background supporting and offering his opinion and things like that. We just thought it would be nice to freshen it up a little bit and give him an evening watching from the back."
As is often the case at this time of year, there were trialists involved, with two in the first-half starting line-up and one more in the second 45. Shuttleworth did not give away much regarding any decisions made and said they would continue to monitor the situation.
"We just thought it was good to see them in a game tonight and see what they can offer in an 11v11 competitive game,” he added.
Next up for Wednesday is a behind-closed-doors friendly away at Preston on Saturday, which is likely to see the return of senior players back in action before the squad fly out to Budapest and Vienna for a week-long training camp where preparations for the new campaign will ramp up.