Sheffield Wednesday v QPR: Owls will not have millions to spend, warns Steve Bruce

While challenging his side to achieve a top-10 finish which would have looked fanciful before Christmas, Owls manager Steve Bruce has turned his attentions to the future – with talks taking place with the club’s nine out-of-contract players in the build-up to tomorrow’s fixture and after.

It promises to be a busy weekend for Bruce, with the Owls’ retained list likely early next week.

Keiren Westwood, Liam Palmer, Kieran Lee, Gary Hooper, George Boyd, Marco Matias, Almen Abdi, David Jones and Daniel Pudil are out of contract, while loanees Michael Hector, Rolando Aarons, Achraf Lazaar and Josh Onomah all return to their parent clubs.

The Wednesday chief has revealed that the club have offered a new deal to Westwood and are waiting for an answer from the vastly-experienced goalkeeper, who has impressed in the second half of the season after being frozen out under Bruce’s predecessor, Jos Luhukay.

Bruce also confirmed that he will speak with Chelsea in a bid to sign Hector on a permanent basis on the back of the defender’s outstanding season at Hillsborough.

Bruce, wholly aware of the club needing to adhere to Financial Fair Play regulations after issues in the past, said: “We will be discussing (things) and I will have a chat with the players concerned and let the public know.

“With difficult decisions, you have to meet them head on and make them. That is where we are.

“I think we all understand that the financial implications are not ours alone. We have to meet the problem and try and address it. Within those parameters, of course there are big and difficult decisions to be made.”

Bruce has met chairman Dejphon Chansiri to discuss budgetary and recruitment plans for next season, with the Owls manager describing the sit-down together as a ‘really good meeting’ with the feedback being positive.

Bruce, who admits that creating room for manoeuvre in his playing budget will be required to rejig his squad with some youthful energy and freshness, added: “All of those things are within the parameters of trying to address the Financial Fair Play issue. I understood that when I walked through the door and it did not put me off.

“So it is fair to say we are not going to be spending millions and millions. I think when supporters get to know the truth and exactly what we have got and have not got, they get to understand it better. There will not be millions and millions of pounds spent.

“We have to adhere the Financial Fair Play rules. Even if we had millions, we are not allowed to spend them. It is a difficult situation. But we are not alone in it and plenty of other clubs are in the same boat.

“His (Chansiri’s) vision, as always, is that he wants to try and get the club in the Premier League and that is what he shares with all of us. We have got a big summer ahead and some big decisions to be made.”