Mandaric brings new sense of optimism to Wednesday

"People in Sheffield are used to bad weather," he said grimly. "But this a sunny day."

For Wilkinson, whose relationship with the club dates back six decades, this was indeed a moment to open the curtains and embrace a new morning.

The dark clouds that have hung over Hillsborough since Sheffield Wednesday's relegation from the Premier League in 2000 have finally been swept away by Milan Mandaric's takeover.

No more debt, no more acrimony between supporters and directors, no lack of money for the manager, and a very real possibility of promotion. To steal a phrase from a local radio phone-in show on BBC Sheffield, this is possibly Football Heaven.

As for Praise or Grumble, well, they can scrub the latter out of the dictionary now as far as Wednesdayites are concerned. There is no use for it now. Well, not for a few weeks, at least.

Mandaric's 9m takeover deal has averted the threat of administration and was approved by 99.7 per cent of the club's shareholders at yesterday's Extraordinary General Meeting.

It took only 12 minutes to complete the formalities – and four of those were wasted by a supporter who questioned the life presidencies being awarded to departing board members. That is right. Even on this most joyful of occasions for a club being dragged back from the brink, there was still one supporter seeking recriminations for the past.

Mandaric was shocked. And rightly so. Wilkinson, hosting his first and last EGM as club chairman, looked taken aback. Mercifully, it was not too long before the rest of the audience ordered the questioner to stand down.

Wilkinson hailed Mandaric's arrival and delivered his farewell speech.

"I was a supporter in the Fifties, a player in the Sixties, manager in the Eighties, and latterly, a reluctant chairman," he said. "Of all the roles, it was a great privilege and my greatest honour.

"But there were times, as chairman, when I felt like I was trying to keep 50 plates spinning, 50 balls in the air, and was dragging a sack of snakes behind me," he revealed later. "The last eight months have probably been my most difficult in football. It was very tortuous but I always knew we could get a successful outcome because the product, this football club, was good.

"My role now will be to do whatever is necessary to help Milan and (manager) Alan Irvine. All of us have a shared vision to take this club back to the Premier League. I am here as long as Milan wants me around, as long as I can perform a useful function."

Wilkinson is staying on the club's board as a non-executive director but now, relieved of the pressures of chairmanship, will be able to focus more on his 'other' job as chairman of the League Managers' Association.

He stepped into the breach last summer when Lee Strafford stood down following a dispute with finance director Bob Grierson. When the extent of the club's financial problems were revealed, Wilkinson had to stand tall and fight for the club's salvation.

He was fooled by one group of investors and made the mistake of promising 'immediate investment' live on television's Football Focus. At one stage, he also addressed an angry mob outside the ground and possibly prevented a riot.

Falling back on his metaphors, Wilkinson said: "If you have a serious illness, there will always be scars – but we have healed enough now and there is no need to search for retribution or vengeance. We owe a huge thank-you to the fans as 99.9 per cent of them could always see that we were trying our best for the football club – at times when we could not divulge information, even when we might have wanted to.

"My job was to find the right person to buy this football club and make the transition as successful as possible," he added. "Some people were talking glibly, saying 'why don't we just go into administration'? But at what cost? You are talking about people's lives and you should always try to pay one's debts. That wouldn't have been the easy route.

"Everyone at this football club has been worried about losing their jobs and losing a job at a football club is no different to losing a job at the local Co-Op. You live in fear of administration all the time but you have to keep looking through the front windscreen not in the rear mirror. We will benefit in the future because people now know how hard we have fought on their behalf to keep this club going."

Any rift between Wilkinson and Mandaric is now over. The pair may have been at loggerheads as one sacked managers and the other tried to stop them – but both are now firmly united in pursuit of success. "After the horrendous problems of the last 10 years, this is the start of a new era," added Wilkinson. "It's an unbelievable relief."

Mandaric repaid the compliment saying it is a 'tremendous benefit' to have Wilkinson on the board.

"I don't need to talk about his knowledge of the game and we share the same feelings of desire about this club," said the new Owls chairman. "I can only admire Howard for what he has done for this football club and respect him."

Manager Irvine has also been hailed as a vital cog in the club's new wheel with Mandaric pledging to offer support in the transfer market next month.

Irvine, naturally, is delighted but says the pressure on his shoulders remains the same.

"I have not asked questions about my future. I work on the basis that my job is to get good results for the club," he said. "If I get good results, I would hope that, more often than not, you will keep your job. Although that's not necessarily the case in football.

"As a manager, if you don't get good results, you expect – more often than not – to lose your job. So nothing has changed. But it will be nice to have more control back again," he added. "There have been times since I came to the club that my hands have been tied. That's not a complaint or a criticism, it is just logical. I have to say that Nick Parker (chief executive) and Howard have been fantastic through all of this and the club would have been in serious trouble without their work.

"Now Milan has come along and is very passionate and determined to make sure this club enjoys success in the future. We have had a couple of chats. He has told me how he wants the relationship to develop and that's important, knowing what he expects from me. It was a very good chat and very encouraging."

MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE, SAYS MANDARIC

MILAN Mandaric admits that reviving the fortunes of Sheffield Wednesday will be his 'biggest challenge' in football.

The Serbian-born businessman has spent 12 years in this country with Portsmouth and Leicester City and previously owned clubs in Yugoslavia, America, Belgium and France.

"This is the biggest challenge I have had so far in my football life," he said. "When you add everything on, it has cost me less than 10m and the club has zero debt now. It is hard to compare but this is a huge club. Portsmouth is a big, good club but has a 20,000 seat stadium. We have 40,000. It's a massive challenge at a massive club but there are massive rewards."