SHEFFIELD Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen praised the mentality of his players for the way they conducted themselves in front of a miniscule home support at Hillsborough – while admtting that the sight of a eerily desrted stadium was a ‘painful’ one.

Thousands of Wednesdayites voted with their feet and boycotted the fixture as Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust stepped up their protests against reviled owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The only well populated end of Hillsborough was the away section in the West Stand and hordes of home supporters kept away.

Despite the lack of atmosphere, Pedersen’s players acquitted themselves superbly on the night and could count themselves unfortunate not to get a point in a 1-0 loss.

placeholder image — Owls boss Henrik Pedersen

Pedersen said: "We all know how Hillsborough can be and we have a fantastic support and of course, it’s painful to see this. But I understand and respect everyone and as I said before the game that the fans sitting at home and in the pubs will be all together with us and we are all together.

"This togetherness, we just have to keep. I have the biggest respect for everyone.

"We all spoke about that it would be different. We had to do everything we could control to be the best version of ourselves and the boy showed their best side."

Wednesday debutant Joe Lumley excelled against former club Boro on his debut and made a string of fantastic saves, with EFL emergency loan rules regarding goalkeepers meaning that he will stay in goal for the duration of his seven-day loan. The Owls host Oxford United this weekend.

Owls keeper Joe Lumley makes a save from Boro's Tommy Conway

Pedersen added: “He came in the (Tuesday) morning and came in the office and we had a conversation and he’s a fantastic guy and a good mix between being calm and a powerful man.

"He played a great, great game.

"With where we are right now against Middlesbrough, I didn’t think it was the right situation to put him on the pitch when I had the chance to get an experienced goalkeeper in to help the team. I think it was the right solution.

"The rules are that we have to play him both games."