Former Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw is set to give Sheffield Wednesday something they do not already have as Henrik Pedersen's new assistant.

But the Owls manager has challenged the rest of his backroom staff to bring more to the table too.

Hamshaw is due to return to the club where he began his playing career to replace Chris Mudd after a bruising first management job.

Taking charge of the Millers in a period of decline was no easy task and having initially been appointed as a caretaker, Hamshaw oversaw 53 games, winning just 16 before his dismissal with relegation to League Two almost inevitable.

But the former midfielder is a highly-regarded coach and brings experience of not only management but in League One, something Darryl Flahavan, Adam Yates, Ryan McMahon, Ben King, Pete Shuttleworth and Giles Coke do not.

"After Muddy left, we went to Budapest and Vienna (in pre-season) and I said now I want to see the development in my coaching group without Muddy, to see how they are all progressing, who can take over something from Muddy and how can we grow together here,” said Pedersen.

Even with the season up and running with a 1-0 League Cup win over Bolton Wanderers, Pedersen has been determined not to rush a decision.

"I need time to be sure the person behind this football coach is the right person, that he can give us what we don't have in the club," he explained.

MILLERS TIME: Matt Hamshaw managed his boyhood club, Rotherham United, last season (Image: Tony Johnson)

placeholder image — MILLERS TIME: Matt Hamshaw managed his boyhood club, Rotherham United, last season (Image: Tony Johnson)

"He can give us something that I don't have in the system and fit in with the system. He has some quality that can make us more effective to create results in League One."

Pedersen's past appointments have suggested a keen eye for coaching talent, as shown by the fact Manchester City brought Mudd less than a year after he left their academy.

Hamshaw worked with Harry Gray when the Leeds United youngster was on loan at Rotherham last season and will do so again now he is at Hillsborough.

Hamshaw mostly used the 17-year-old in a front two, but Pedersen expects him to more often appear slightly deeper in a 4-2-3-1.

VERSATILE FORWARD: Harry Gray (Image: Steve Ellis)

"I think left-ten (inside-left) is a really strong position for him," he said. "I think the central ten he can do.

"He still works on being the nine (centre-forward). I think in the future he can be a nine, but right now I see him a lot as the left ten, central ten, maybe right ten."