Walsall v Sheffield Wednesday - Wiping out points deduction is priority but Owls still seek League Cup lift

For Sheffield Wednesday – and certainly as far as Garry Monk is concerned – the season’s passing will not be lamented.

It was a time of upheaval for Wednesday, with a subdued on-pitch end to a truncated 2019-20 campaign followed by the hammer blow of the club receiving a 12-point penalty at the end of July for breaking spending rules.

Summer also saw a host of senior players leave the club, with a new segment of the Owls’ history beginning at Walsall today.

If the outcome is similar to the last time that Wednesday started the season with a Cup game, then no-one of an Owls persuasion will be complaining.

Back in August, 2012, Wednesday beat hosts Oldham 4-2 in the formerly-named Capital One Cup in their season opener.

This afternoon, they start with a cup tie in front of the television cameras at Walsall, who beat the Owls 2-1 courtesy of two stoppage-time goals on the visitors’ last game at the Banks’s Stadium on Boxing Day, 2011.

That 2011-12 campaign ended in promotion for Wednesday. This time around, the aim is to get the club back on an even keel and wipe out the 12-point deduction as early as possible.

In that respect, the real stuff begins in the league next week, but Monk is aware of the need to generate momentum before the trip to Cardiff on September 12.

Monk said: “It is the first game proper and there are no second chances. There is no practising.

“It is a real game, a competitive game and one you want to win.

“This is where the real thing starts this week and we know how hard we are going to have to work.

“We have improvements still to go, but I think we have had a great few weeks with the players. The players have taken on a lot of information really well and we are looking to push that into this game and beyond.”

Today’s game sees Wednesday face a blast from the recent past in home striker Caolan Lavery.

The Canadian, among a select group of players to feature for both Steel City clubs, is relishing the reunion.

Lavery said: “It will be the first time I have played against them since I left, so it’s definitely one I am looking forward to.

“I had a good time, broke through into the first team and started my career off, so it’s something I am looking forward to.

“I also did the little jump across the city which is not fondly remembered by a lot of people in Sheffield.”

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James Mitchinson