Carlos Carvalhal unflappable as he makes case for Sheffield Wednesday's defence

Sheffield Wednesday’s head coach simply does not do panic, only endeavouring to find solutions in calm, considered fashion.

Evidence suggests that philosophy has served him well during his eventful time at S6. A modest start to his Owls tenure in the early throes of the 2015-16 season was countered by his belief that his side would come good once new signings gelled together. He was proved to be right.

Then, at certain junctures of last term, Carvalhal remained serene during sporadic dips in form or poor results and retained confidence that his side would clinch their play-off place, come the end of the regular campaign – which they did in comfortable fashion in the final analysis.

Given all that ‘previous’, he is not about to start panicking now.

Heading into his third season in charge, the pressing issue among many Wednesdayites is a distinct lack of central defensive options, with Tom Lees and Glenn Loovens being the club’s only recognised centre-halves.

Carvalhal, as has been his wont since June 2015, remains unflappable.

A host of defensive targets have been scrutinised from the Premier League down to League Two, with it being far from a trade secret that the Owls want at least one central defender this summer.

As yet, no new centre-half has arrived, despite Carvalhal and his staff looking at “more than 200 centre-backs” as he put it.

But he is concentrating on what he has got as opposed to what he has not. And applying a certain logic to the situation, too, while being mindful that the transfer window does not close for a good while yet.

Carvalhal, who has so far made just one close-season signing in winger George Boyd, said: “We are not panicking as we have players who can cover the position.

“I understand it is not the same as having players in the position. But we saw Sam (Hutchinson) have very good games at centre-half and Daniel Pudil can play in the position.

“It is not a perfect condition, but there is no reason for us to panic. We had the third best defensive record in the competition last season and we achieved 16 clean sheets.”

Similarly, Carvalhal remains unflustered as to any suggestions that the Owls – and by definition, himself – are under heavy-duty pressure to clinch promotion at the third time of asking after two near-misses and a significant transfer outlay.

Just as he will not be pressurised into making any potentially hasty moves in the transfer market, so the 51-year-old will also plainly not fall into the trap of making any rash promises regarding Wednesday’s ambitions.

Certainly not in this of all seasons when the likes of Wolves and Middlesbrough have spent eye-watering amounts of transfer cash with a host of other sides such as Aston Villa, Fulham and Derby County – to name but three – also harbouring bonafide automatic promotion aspirations.

Carvalhal, whose side kick off the new Championship season at Preston tomorrow, added: “Nobody can promise promotion. There are 10 teams who have the same abilities to achieve the first and second positions.

“We will fight, but only two go to direct promotion, four go to the play-offs and four will be out of the play-offs.

“We are trying to improve the team. We expect that we will not have the injuries we had last season and that we will start better than the first or second season.

“But it is not the way you start, it is the way that you finish. Everything will not be decided in the first few games.

“The expectation is the best enemy of the coach. We try to control everything.

“I try to manage expectations. I sleep very well every night. I try to do my best all the time. I cannot promise we will go (finish) first or second.

“We promise to work hard and play with a big passion. After this, let us see what will happen in the competition.”

Despite last season’s shattering play-off semi-final exit to Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town and a largely underwhelming close-season in terms of recruitment thus far, the overwhelming majority of Owls fans remain very much in glass-is-half-full mode ahead of the new season.

This is perhaps best underlined by the fact the club’s allocation of 5,706 for tomorrow’s game at Deepdale sold out some nine days ago, suggesting that despite two painful play-off exits, confidence has not been dented among the Owls’ fanbase.

Or Carvalhal’s for that matter.

He added: “My motivation is more high at this moment than when I arrived at Sheffield Wednesday and so is my energy. Let us start to play and see what we can do this season.”