Sheffield Wednesday 0 Oldham Athletic 0: Turner looks on as Owls show spirit to halt run

Turner was a guest of the Wednesday board along with Russ Green, the former chief executive of Hartlepool United.

The pair head a consortium, with links to the oil industry, which is looking to invest 10m in the Owls as soon as possible.

Talks are understood to have reached an advanced stage between the group, the club, and representatives of the Co-operative Bank, the Owls' major creditors.

If a deal is reached, it could finally bring an end to the financial nightmare that has crippled the Owls since relegation from the Premier League a decade ago.

However, after enduring so many false dawns in the past, Owls supporters are more than entitled to say 'we'll believe this, when we see it'.

Significantly, Turner and his associates have ticked all the boxes so far and have opted to stay away from games until this late stage – unlike previous interested parties who seized every possible opportunity to hog the limelight along the way.

Turner will take over as director of football as part of the proposed deal leaving manager Alan Irvine to concentrate on the task of winning promotion from League One.

Results over the last few weeks had dragged the Owls down the table and put serious pressure on Irvine for the first time since his appointment eight months ago.

He wielded the axe for the visit of Oldham Athletic in an attempt to stop the rot, making five changes to the side which lost at home to Southampton.

Neil Mellor, Darren Potter, Lewis Buxton, Gary Teale and Daniel Jones all dropped to the bench with Clinton Morrison, Chris Sedgwick, Tommy Miller, Jon Otsemobor and Tommy Spurr coming in as replacements.

The Owls created the first opening of the game after 13 minutes but Sedgwick failed to get enough power on a lob to beat goalkeeper Dean Brill.

Although there was an absence of real quality in the Owls' first-half performance, there was still enough gusto and bravado to satisfy home fans and generate a Hillsborough roar.

Morrison worked tirelessly in attack and captain Darren Purse was on form in defence after recovering from a head injury suffered against Southampton.

However, the Owls were forced into a substitution on 31 minutes when Spurr suffered concussion in a clash of heads with Oldham's Ritchie Jones.

Fortunately, Irvine had a ready made replacement sitting on the bench in the shape of summer signing Daniel Jones – who was unlucky not to have kept his shirt in the first place.

There was no lack of passion from either side and referee David Webb had to make a number of tough calls.

A lunge from James O'Connor left Oldham's Dean Thurman in a heap and was deemed worthy of a yellow while Giles Coke, already booked, was lucky to stay on the field for pulling down Jones on the edge of the area. Dale Stephens sent the subsequent free-kick over the bar.

Just before the interval, Owls striker Morrison was knocked over in the area by defender Jean Yves Mvoto but Webb was adamant there had been no foul.

By the interval, there had been a chronic shortage of goalmouth action but there was no dissent from the crowd for the Owls had shown improved spirit and work-rate and avoided individual mistakes.

Oldham took the initiative at the start of the second half and former Bradford City midfielder Dean Thurman shot narrowly wide from 25 yards.

Coke was then off target with a low drive at the opposite end as the Owls began to regain the upperhand.

Crosses flashed across the Oldham box from both flanks but Morrison would have needed to be six inches taller to bag a double.

Irvine sent on Teale for Sedgwick and Heffernan for O'Connor midway through the second half in an attempt to break the deadlock.

Former Doncaster Rovers striker Heffernan had again been denied the opportunity to start by Irvine despite the lack of goals from his side in recent weeks.

The Owls always looked comfortable at the back and goalkeeper Nick Weaver barely had a shot to save.

For the Owls, that was a major positive – now all they need are goals. As well as a few million pounds investment.

Sheffield Wednesday: Weaver; Otsemobor, Purse, Beevers, Spurr (D.Jones 31); Sedgwick (Teale 62), O'Connor (Heffernan 74), Coke, Miller; Tudgay, Morrison. Unused substitutes: Jameson, Buxton, Potter, Mellor.

Oldham Athletic: Brill; Lee, Hazell, Yves Mvoto, Black; R.Jones; Stephens, Furman, Alessandra; Tounkare (Brooke 82), Taylor. Unused substitutes: Gerrard, Jacobson, Kelly, Jarrett, Dikaba, Francois-Christophe.

Referee: D Webb (County Durham)