Yan Valery says Sheffield Wednesday have had to do a lot of their pre-season work during the season, as he and Sean Fusire have had to learn one another's positions.

Tunisia defender Valery has been converted into a central midfielder by Henrik Pedersen this season, even though the early steps in that direction were taken under previous manager Danny Rohl.

And central midfielder Fusire has found a niche for himself at right wing-back in recent weeks, with Pedersen believing he is better with a more blinkered view of the pitch at this stage of his development.

It is work that would have been best done in pre-season, but the Owls' preparations for 2025-26 were a shambles, starting without any of the senior coaching staff before Rohl's assistant Pedersen signed a new contract, with players going unpaid as owner Dejphon Chansiri's funds dried up and Barry Bannan only signing a new deal - on vastly reduced wages - in the lead-up to the opening game of the campaign.

On the move: Sheffield Wednesday’s Sean Fusire, left, and Yan Valery, right, have switched positions this season to cover up gaps in the Owls’ depleted squad. (Picture: Steve Ellis)

placeholder image — On the move: Sheffield Wednesday’s Sean Fusire, left, and Yan Valery, right, have switched positions this season to cover up gaps in the Owls’ depleted squad. (Picture: Steve Ellis)

Add in Rohl's protracted negotiations to leave, the more straight-forward departures of Josh Windass and Michael Smith on free transfers, the sales of Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama to pay the bills and the addition of just two new players in loanees Harry Amass and Ethan Horvath, and getting proper work done proved extremely difficult.

The Owls players even boycotted one of the few pre-season games arranged because they were not being paid at the time.

"The pre-season was crazy, to be fair," reflected Valery, signed from Angers the previous summer.

"Sometimes people forget that we didn't really have a pre-season.

"I never thought about it but we've probably had to do some of that work during the season.

"But we never try to find excuses. We go into games to try and give our best and get the three points." Fortunately for Valery and Fusire, their positional swap has not been the culture shock it might appear on the surface.

"Last season with Danny I was already going inside (into midfield) sometimes as a full-back when we had the ball," explained Valery "It's completely different now, I have to play a defensive role as a midfielder and on the ball I can just stay there.

"I really like it there.

"I watched a lot of videos to see what I could do better.

"In training I'd sometimes go inside a bit so they knew I had this thing a little bit already. But the assistant (manager) took me and showed me videos.

"In training you try and see how it goes. It was good and I felt good there.

"There were a few things that were not there because I'm not a natural midfielder but it came with the help of Baz (Bannan), and playing there week in, week out.

"I'm getting more comfortable and with Baz next to me it's even better. I really enjoy it.

"You run more but it's nice. I like it because I just feel more free. I help the team more defensively.

"Especially on nights when we have a bit more of the ball and you can play more football I really enjoy it. I like this new position."

And he says Zimbabwe international Fusire has become an important player at wing-back too, as backed up by the fact the 20-year-old has started the last five games there, having played a part in all but two matches in all competitions this season.

"Sean likes it as a wing-back," said Valery. "From what I understand he played there in the academy.

"He likes it and I feel it takes a bit of pressure off him as well because he's still young.

"He's important for us now in this position. He's doing really well there, I'm really proud of him."

Video work has remained an important part of the Owls' development since Pedersen succeeded Rohl, with a big effort more recently on being controlled in possession, rather than getting carried away by the crowd.

"We do a lot of videos," explained Valery. "Sometimes you can see we can be more calm on the ball where sometimes you think you have to kick it. "We worked a lot on this. "And with everything going on and when you want to please the fans so much for what they're doing, sometimes you can put some pressure on yourselves where you don't need to.

"The fans are the best, they're really the best. You can feel it when we are making mistakes, missing the ball, missing passes but the fans are with us.

"We've got nothing to lose. People expect us to lose so just play and be confident. If you make a mistake, as long as we react together that's the most important thing."

Cooper