Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday: Henrik Pedersen demands speed from Owls amid look towards rebuild
There has been absence of jeopardy at Sheffield Wednesday for a long time – yet manager Henrik Pedersen cannot wash his hands of this season.
The club’s relegation to League One has already been confirmed but there are 11 fixtures left for the South Yorkshire club to fulfil.
Bluntly, matchdays are no longer everything for the long-suffering Hillsborough faithful.
As takeover talk intensifies, all they really want is an exit from administration and a fresh start next season under new ownership.
Pedersen is happy to talk of future planning but in the meantime, the Dane is demanding more speed from his players.
Henrik Pedersen wants more
“This aggressive way of pressing, we cannot press for 90 minutes where we are right now,” he said. “But we want to be very aggressive.
"We train lots so when we are winning the ball, we use more of our good pressing situations to play some quicker transitions.
"One of the big things we have in training sessions is the intensity to break lines, to give and go, because we need to run quicker, we need to play quicker before we can use our good interceptions. And then of course, when we get the chances, we need to score.
"We need more passages with high intensity, where the ball speed is higher to create more situations where we not only have one or two, but three or four players in speed. This is the key to create more.”
Maximum effort required
A trip to eighth-placed Derby County is a daunting one for most Championship clubs and few will be tipping the Rams to slip on a banana skin on their home turf.
Few tears, if any, will be shed if the Owls end up on the losing side at Pride Park. However, Wednesday’s manager wants maximum expenditure nonetheless.
“We want to deliver as many performances as possible where fans can identify themselves with the performance on the pitch,” Pedersen said. “Where they bring all out.
"We can lose games but we have to bring all out. And of course, we have a big thing about individual development.”
Looking towards the future
Pedersen may be one of the few with laser focus on current performances but his desperation for the next chapter to arrive is clear.
When that page is finally turned, few will be quite as relieved as the 48-year-old.
“I think it will be a massive day for everyone,” he said. “To be in a difficult situation, and you don’t know what the future will bring, it can be really tough.
"There’s a lot of insecurity generally. There’s a lot of questions, there’s a lot of stress. But to get clarity with the new owner, I think it will bring so much energy in. People can start to think forward, get hope, get belief. We can start to look forward and not just survive.
"I think everyone around Sheffield Wednesday is looking forward to speaking about the future and having something to look forward to. We’re all looking forward to the date where the new owners have the key in the hand and are ready to do their best for Sheffield Wednesday.
“They (administrators) are exactly as hungry as us to start the preparation for the rebuild.”