Allen’s ire did not sit right with me, says Megson

Allen, who is now the owner of League One rivals Chesterfield, branded a section of Wednesday’s supporters ‘cretins and scum’ and labelled one female supporter a ‘venomous bitch’.

He was angry at criticism of his running of the club and the level of abuse being aimed in his direction at home games.

Tomorrow, the Owls play host to Chesterfield, giving Allen an opportunity to return to the directors’ box at Hillsborough.

He was away on holiday for last season’s meeting in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy but could be tempted to attend tomorrow’s game in the wake of Chesterfield’s promotion to League One.

Megson said: “You can’t refer to our supporters, whether it’s a few or in general, like he did, because they’re the best in the country. I have a lot of respect for Dave Allen but calling our supporters those names did not sit right with me, As a Sheffield Wednesday supporter, I found that unacceptable.”

Megson was interviewed for the Wednesday manager’s job in 2006 when Allen gave the job, instead, to Scunthorpe United’s Brian Laws.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference yesterday, Megson stressed that he had ‘no issues’ with Allen.

He feels the casino and nightclub owner is owed a debt of gratitude for providing financial support during his seven-year stint on the Hillsborough board.

“Anybody who puts the amount of money in that Dave did has a huge amount of respect from Sheffield Wednesday fans, of which I am one,” said Megson. “I’ve known Dave since I was about 20 years old trying to get into his nightclub in Sheffield. He did a lot of good for Sheffield Wednesday, stepping into the breach when he did. He is also doing a good job at Chesterfield, putting his money into the team and building the new ground.”

Chesterfield manager John Sheridan, in stark contrast, can look forward to a far better reception from home supporters at tomorrow’s game.

The former Owls midfielder will always be regarded as a cult hero at Hillsborough for scoring the winning goal against Manchester United in the 1991 League Cup final at Wembley.

“He is quite rightly respected and I have respect, too, for the goal he scored in the final,” said Megson. “He has got his own suite at Hillsborough and he’s a nice guy.

“Hopefully, our supporters will give him the reception he deserves – I am sure they will,” he added. “But, after that, they will be supporting one team and one team only.”

Chesterfield strikers Leon Clarke and Drew Talbot will complete an ‘old boys reunion’ at Hillsborough and Megson acknowledges that it will be a tough test for his promotion-chasing side.

“They are coming from just up the road so that changes anything to do with form,” said Megson. “They lost a bit of momentum when, arguably, their biggest asset Craig Davies joined Barnsley in the summer but since they have brought Leon from Swindon Town it has given them a different dimension. He’s coming back for the first time and that will be a problem for us.”

Jamaican international Jermaine Johnson was fined two weeks’ wages for his sending-off in the final stages of last month’s 5-1 defeat at Stevenage.

Striker Gary Madine was also fined for his yellow card in last weekend’s victory at Hartlepool as Megson gets tough on indiscipline. Johnson returns to action tomorrow after serving a three-game ban, but will have to be content with a place on the bench. Megson said: “I don’t want to be fining players but I want them to be professional. It’s not about the money, it’s about having players available all the time to the football club.

“It’s not a threat but you don’t want to be paying people the same amount of money for not working as you do for working.”

Megson has also introduced a ban on alcohol in the players’ lounge at Hillsborough because he feels it has no place in the modern game.

“In the Seventies and the Eighties, that was the way we used to do it, but that’s old fashioned now,” he said. “You can’t re-fuel on beer and lager. If we are to get Sheffield Wednesday up to where it should be again that is one of the small things that needed to be done. “

Striker Ryan Lowe will again be unavailable tomorrow and has been ordered to rest for five days in an attempt to shake off ankle trouble before next weekend’s Steel City derby.

Lowe, 33, has made just two substitute appearances and played only 32 minutes of first-team football since arriving from Bury nearly six weeks ago.

Defender Reda Johnson and midfielder Liam Palmer also miss tomorrow’s game due to international call-ups for Benin and the Scotland under-21s, respectively.

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