Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday: Henrik Pedersen finds 'very good cocktail' ahead of League One return
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen speaks ahead of his side’s trip to Leyton Orient
The speed at which Sheffield Wednesday have rebuilt in recent months makes it easy to forget there is still plenty to be done.
As the Owls returned to competitive football last weekend, defeating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 in the first round of the Carabao Cup, manager Henrik Pedersen did not even have a full coaching team.
The gap created by Craig Mudd’s move to Manchester City had not been plugged and as the Owls slogged their way into the second round, it was clear Wednesday 2.0 is not fully up and running just yet.
New addition to coaching team
An important step has been taken in the build-up to the season opener away at Leyton Orient this afternoon, with former Owls midfielder Hamshaw now a first-team coach at Hillsborough.
The 44-year-old - a four-time League One promotion-winner - is back in the dugout five months after being relieved of his duties as Rotherham United manager.
“I need a strong personality, a guy who is top on set-pieces, a guy who knows the league and has experience,” said Pedersen. “Of course, if we find a former Sheffield Wednesday player as well, then we have a very good cocktail.
“He knows League One better than anyone. Matt had a lot of conversations with me and the coaches about the style of play, training methods and the players.
“Everyone has to bring their quality and this has been a good week to see my coaches growing together.”
Not taking risks
The appointment of Hamshaw represents another piece of the puzzle being placed. Wednesday are a jigsaw who saw their pieces scattered wildly during the Dejphon Chansiri years but as order returns to S6, fan tolerance for poor showings withers.
At Brisbane Road, the home of an Orient side who underachieved last term, the Owls will be welcoming the return of a pressure they simply did not experience last season.
No longer will losses be shrugged off, no longer will apathy be fuelled by the inevitability of relegation. Owls chairman David Storch has even admitted he would be “very disappointed” if Wednesday were still a League One club at the end of the season.
Pedersen, however, will resist the urge to tempt fate with the players not yet fully-fit. Ricardo Santos has not seen match action since his arrival, while Liam Cooper has managed just 45 minutes in pre-season.
Billy Mitchell missed the win over Bolton and Louie Barry was only deemed fit enough to feature from the bench.
“If what we do, I think it's not to gamble,” he said. “I think we do it very conscious with the advice from the doctor and from the physical coach.
“So basically, strategy, very conscious knowledge behind the decision we're making. Everyone has trained today on different level, so everything go in the right direction with the whole squad for the fitness. Something is the level. The other thing is how much they are training. But they are in the right direction, both, and yeah, this is what I can say now.
“Louis has had a good week again now, and Billy also start to train regularly. It’s two quality players, [going] in the right direction. But we also have a team that did it well last week.”