Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust says it is ready to put forward a “credible fan-led takeover” if necessary after Dejphon Chansiri's decade of ownership came to an end.

Saturday's home game against Oxford United is set to be played in a celebratory atmosphere in stark contrast to Wednesday’s depressing scenes, when a boycott left three sides of Hillsborough virtually empty – but huge challenges remain.

The Owls finally saw the back of Chansiri on Friday when they went into administration but the 12-point deduction which comes with it makes relegation even more likely. Off the field the challenge is finding somebody who can run the club in the manner befitting one of English football's most historic names.

With Chansiri and his wildly unrealistic asking price out of the way, finding a buyer will be no problem. Getting the right one will be trickier.

Former Crystal Palace owner John Textor claimed recently he was one of "three or four" parties in talks with Chansiri and his go-betweens. But Textor, who also owns Botafogo, ran into trouble with Lyon in the summer when they were briefly relegated from Ligue 1 over financial issues, only to be quickly reinstated.

Textor, or anyone else for that matter, will have to reassure the footballing world they are will address the decay Chansiri oversaw at not just Hillsborough but also their Middlewood Road training ground.

Legislation is going through Parliament to allow the new Independent Football Regulator to put would-be owners through a much more stringent "fit and proper person" test than the Football League is able to.

But even with great effort to try to speed up the process, the new powers are not expected to come into force until late this year.

RALLYING CALL: Captain Barry Bannan has called on Sheffield Wednesday fans to return to Hillsborough on Saturday (Image: Steve Ellis)

placeholder image — RALLYING CALL: Captain Barry Bannan has called on Sheffield Wednesday fans to return to Hillsborough on Saturday (Image: Steve Ellis)

The responsibility of joint administrators Julian Pitts, Kris Wigfield and Paul Stanley is recouping as much money as possible for the club's creditors, with those involved in football at the front of the queue. The biggest is Chansiri.

There may have to be a firesale of players if a new owner is not in place when the transfer window opens in June. Many of the most valuable have already left, but goalkeeper Pierce Charles will be in demand. He is recovering from shoulder surgery.

"There's a lot of good people who have worked here for years in the background," said Bannan. "Every good club needs that, we've got it in abundance. The fanbase is amazing.

"There'll be a lot of interest, but it needs to be the right interest and for the right reasons. The club needs to be shown a bit of love now, and it can really challenge in the best league in the world (the Premier League).

DISILLUSIONED: Fans stayed away from the midweek game against Middlesbrough in protest at Dejphon Chansiri's stewardship of the club; now he has gone Saturday's game against Oxford United should have a very different feel (Image: Steve Ellis)

"The structure at the minute is not great, but you don't need to spend millions on the training ground, it just needs a little bit of help. The same with the stadium, a lovely historic ground that probably just needs a bit of freshening up.

"When you look at how well supported we are, it's a perfect opportunity for somebody who loves football to try and get them where they should be."

In an open letter on what it called "one of the most bittersweet days in our club’s proud 158-year history," the Trust said it was willing to fill the breach if needed.

“Should a suitable sale not materialise we have been working to develop a credible, fan-led takeover proposal,” it said. “Liquidation will not be an option.

FORCED OUT: The appointment of administrators has ended Dejphon Chansiri's control of Sheffield Wednesday (Image: Steve Ellis)

“The Trust has already opened dialogue with (the administrators) and will play a full part in safeguarding the long-term survival and sustainable future of our club.

“Administration was the inevitable outcome of years of financial mismanagement, a lack of accountability, and repeated failures to engage credible buyers.

"Administration is not something to be celebrated. It needn’t have ended this way. But we are overjoyed to have Dejphon Chansiri out of our club for good. This may be the first step to getting our Wednesday back.”

According to Gurpreet Sanghera, partner at leading media and entertainment law firm Simkins LLP, the next eight weeks will be critical.

"Creditors will want to know within eight weeks what their intentions are," she said of the administrators.

"If it was a company nobody had heard of it could go on forever and a day but I would have thought it would be in everybody's best interests to get this done as quickly as possible."

As others work on that, Bannan is looking forward to experiencing the proper Hillsborough again after weeks of pale imitations.

"It's really spurred us on the support we've had away from home,” he said. “If we're going to stay in the league we're really going to have to turn that home form around and a huge part of that will be the fans coming in and being loud."