Owls fund Varney's return to delight of Irvine

Manager Alan Irvine has persuaded Varney to come back to Hillsborough for a third spell on loan from Championship rivals Derby County.

However, Irvine admits that the deal would not have been possible without the money from Burnley.

Sports scientist Tom Little, head of recruitment Tim Henderson and goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer all moved across the Pennines this week to join former Owls manager Brian Laws at Turf Moor.

Irvine still wants to replace the backroom trio but arrived at Hillsborough knowing that any new blood would have to be funded by departures.

Varney is on loan with the Owls until the end of the season and goes straight back into the squad for tomorrow's crunch home game with bottom-of-the-table Peterborough United.

"It is a fantastic piece of business to be able to bring Luke back in again," said Irvine. "I have always admired him and feared playing against him. He works defenders extremely hard and is a player who I believe can make a huge contribution between now and the end of the season.

"The deal has been funded by the money from the staff going over to Burnley," he revealed. "We got some compensation for that which has provided the finance to do this.

"It is not something I was trying to generate, it was something that just happened – but it's worked out in terms of getting another good player into the squad."

Irvine brought his former Preston North End assistant Rob Kelly and coach Billy Barr to Hillsborough as part of his managerial deal while goalkeeping coach Andy Rhodes joined the club this week in the wake of Mercer's departure.

The loss of Little and Henderson leaves the Owls without specialists in both fitness and scouting and will need to be addressed at some stage.

"Obviously it's a problem in terms of the staffing situation but I will wait until after these three games to see how we cope," said Irvine. "Staff are very important. Everyone gives the manager credit but Rob, Billy, and Andy have all played an enormous part in any success we had at Preston."

The capture of Varney, who returned to Derby after scoring in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Boxing Day, avoids a possible problem for the Owls who are still waiting to discover the full extent of a hamstring injury suffered by striker Jermaine Johnson at Blackpool in midweek.

In addition to Johnson, striker Francis Jeffers is also unavailable for tomorrow's game with a hamstring strain which left only Marcus Tudgay, Leon Clarke and Akpo Sodje as attacking options.

Despite the inevitable speculation, Irvine insists there have been no offers for any of his players during his first two weeks at Hillsborough.

Irvine also confirmed that he wants to keep midfielder Tom Soares, whose loan deal from Stoke City expires after tomorrow's game.

"I will be speaking with Tony Pulis (Stoke manager) to find out what their plans are. He is their player and they may have other plans," said Irvine. "They may want him back to see if anything happens during the window or they may be happy for him to remain here.

"When I have found out their intentions, I will have a chat with Tom to see what he thinks," he added. "If it is possible to keep him then I need to go cap in hand to the chairman to see if he can help us out."

Irvine is looking forward to his first home game in charge tomorrow buoyed by two consecutive 2-1 away wins against Barnsley and Blackpool.

"It will be a huge event," he said. "Your first home game at any club is always something special. I am looking forward to standing in the home dug-out for a change."

In a bid to boost the attendance, the Owls are allowing children accompanied by adults to pay just 1 for admission but all tickets have to be purchased by noon tomorrow.