We need players I want or no point me being here

Megson, who is growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of transfer activity at Hillsborough, has drawn up a list of four players who he feels could make the difference between success and failure next season.

That list includes Rochdale striker Chris O’Grady, Preston North End striker Neil Mellor, plus an un-named winger and a centre-back.

Significantly, Megson says the Owls will struggle to win promotion without these new players.

He also feels the current level of investment in the squad is not enough to keep up with Huddersfield Town or Charlton Athletic, other leading contenders for promotion this season in League One.

“Once you say Sheffield Wednesday wants to be in a certain position, you have to do the right things to get into that position, not just say it,” warned Megson. “Anyone can say it – but it’s how you get there.

“There have been comments that we are going to ‘have a real good go at it’,” he said. “I will do my best with whatever I have got – but what I won’t go along with, if we have got a team that is not as strong as last year, is turn around and say we want to get promoted.

“As we stand, the target in my view should not be a case of looking to get this club promoted. But if we get these four players in, we can really start pushing towards a really good, successful Sheffield Wednesday.”

Over the summer, the Owls parted company with seven first-team players and invested in four free agents – Charlton’s Jose Semedo, Nottingham Forest’s Julian Bennett, Scunthorpe’s Rob Jones and Swindon’s David Prutton.

But with only three weeks to go before the start of the new season the first signs of strain are starting to show in Megson’s relationship with the Hillsborough board

During a meeting with chief executive Paul Aldridge on Thursday, he again expressed concerns about the size of his squad and stressed the need to step up investment.

He also outlined his record in helping the club reduce its wage bill following a spending spree by former manager Alan Irvine which failed to reap any rewards.

“I sat down with Paul and gave the names of four players I want – two forwards, an outside-right, and a right-sided centre-half,” said Megson.

“If we get the players that I am after, the ball park figures in terms of money won’t be an issue. It won’t be anywhere near as much as we have taken off the wage bill.

“So far, I have been asked to and I have taken the wage bill down by £1.6m and I have brought four free transfers in,” he said. “Last summer (under Irvine), nine players were signed and about £1.7m was added to the wage bill. In January, five more players were signed at a cost of £1.3m and another £1m went on the wage bill.

“Everyone recognises that we need players but they have to be the ones that I want or there is no point in me being here,” he warned. “I have been a manager for 16 years, I have been promoted to the Premiership twice, I have kept Bolton in there a couple of times, and I have built sides where it has taken a lot of hatchet work to get it where we want to be.

“The hatchet work has been done now and I want to be part of bringing the right players in and being with a Sheffield Wednesday side that is a good, winning side. We have sold about 11,500 season tickets, there is a good vibe about the place, we finished last season okay and had started to look like it. But I don’t want to lose that momentum now.”

The Owls bid only £200,000 for Rochdale striker O’Grady – which was immediately rejected by their League One rivals – and, despite agreeing a fee with Preston were unable to agree personal terms with Mellor, a lifelong Owls supporter who wants to return to the club where he scored 20 goals on loan last season.

“Chris O’Grady is on our radar but Rochdale have turned down our bid,” said Megson. “You have to come up with a figure that they will accept.”

On Mellor, he said: “We are all wanting to get that one done but we have to put an offer to Neil that is acceptable.”

Although Leicester City winger Lloyd Dyer was on his list of targets, Megson has now ruled that deal out as several Championship clubs are also chasing his signature.

Assessing the strength of the opposition in League One, he said: “Charlton and Huddersfield – they are our competitors. But look at Huddersfield who are favourites to win this league and who have put out two strong pro sides in the space of 24 hours this week.

“They have got a really strong squad and we are second favourites. But we need to get players in so we can justify where we are.”

With injuries in defence, Jones (neck) and Lewis Buxton (ankle), and with only two strikers in his squad (Clinton Morrison and Gary Madine), Megson is having to delay vital training sessions which will put emphasis on getting the best out of these departments

“I am really frustrated because I want to get on and do the work,” he said. “We are three weeks away from the start of the season and we need to start working on things other than passing and fitness work.”

Jones, meanwhile, has been appointed new club captain.

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