Henrik Pedersen on Sheffield Wednesday's targets, from plus points to headers won

The Owls go into Saturday's game at home to Barry Bannan's Millwall having picked up 11 points this season, but have had 18 docked for financial issues.

Relegation is a certainty but at the current rate of progress they will end the Championship season with the first minus points tally in Football League history. Avoiding that is a big motivation according to manager Pedersen and to try to do so he has set his players individual targets for each game.

"Of course we are speaking about this," said Pedersen when asked if getting into plus points was something he had brought up.

"We want to see how far we can go (in points terms). How far can we push it out?"

The Owls could become the first Football League team relegated in February but beating Millwall would at least mean they could not mathematically go down at Bramall Lane on the 22nd.

Pedersen's main focus is less on the hopeless bigger picture, far more on little ways he can test the development of a largely inexperienced squad.

"When we are speaking to Jayden (Heskey) it's how many interceptions do you make? How many tackles are you winning?” he explained.

"Then he can play a good game in the Championship. It is to put numbers on the performances.

"That is why the young players all get individual feedback after the game and after training. We want to see progression for each of them.

"We know Gab (Otegbayo) will have a tough game against Millwall but we count his duels with the head. How many will he win against the striker from Millwall? How many times when the ball is crossed will he win this duel or lose this duel?

"There are a lot of small behaviour(al) things we can put numbers on."

Another harder to measure area where players need to step up is providing leadership after Bannan's tearful departure to join the Lions last month.

Although the midfielder was a fine player during a decade at Hillsborough, it is arguably the leadership he showed during a traumatic 2025 that marked him out as an all-time Owls great.

Liam Palmer has stepped up from vice-captain and is being supported by the senior players but the group is too small for others not to contribute too.

In this respect 21-year-old centre-back Otegbayo has really impressed Pedersen, and its importance will be amplified if Liam Cooper fails to shake off the problem which has made him a doubt for Saturday.

"There are different levels of leadership," explained Pedersen. "There is the personal leadership to be a leader in their own boat, to be consistent about who you want to be and who you don't want to be and how can I lead myself in the best possible way. Most of the young guys have enough (on) just to do this.

"Then the next level is when it's not only about me, it's about us.

"If you see how Gab has developed since the summer, I was tough with him at the beginning because I think he was sometimes lazy and too unstable but he's grown a lot as a human.

"How he's speaking, how he's organised us defensively is amazing. He's a young leader.

"Coops has told him to speak as much when the senior players are back (fit) again, not only when you're alone with the young boys because we'll listen to you.

"Gab is a good example of a young guy who has developed a lot as a leader and not only as a football player."

The Owls are on the lookout for a free agent addition after Yan Valery was loaned to Young Boys this week but Pedersen admits they are finding it tough.

"We are really, really searching but it's really, really, really difficult," he said.

"We are looking in the American market, we're looking in the European market, we're looking all over because there are so few players out there right now. So we need to look all over if we want to have a new player in."

The Championship club is in administration with its losses currently covered by a preferred bidder – a consortium led by former Sheffield United advisor James Bord – which will not be allowed to takeover if they do not pass the Football League's owners and directors test.

"We will think before we use money again but of course we try to see if we can find a player who can help and support the boys to make the team stronger so we can get better results," promised Pedersen, who was only able to register 18 senior players – including Valery and a number currently injured – with the Football League last week.

Former Olympiacos forward Zain Silcott-Duberry is training with the club this week but Pedersen says there are no plans at present to invite other free agents to do likewise.