Fifth-placed Plymouth make the trip to Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon for what will be Dave Challinor’s first League One game as manager of the Owls, and his first proper outing at Wednesday’s storied stadium.

Henrik Pedersen was dealing with a number of injury concerns before he lost his job at S6, and things haven’t got too much better for his successor, with Max Lowe the latest to join the long list of absentees.

Sil Swinkels is back from suspension, while Di’Shon Bernard, Yan Valery, Liam Palmer and Jamal Lowe should also be available after suffering a mixture of cramp/fatigue vs Oldham Athletic.

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Here’s the state of play with those that are either out or in doubt for this weekend’s clash…

Max Lowe

“Max has got a recurrence of the injury he had earlier in the season,” Challinor said. “So he’s going to be out for a period, probably maybe four to six weeks. It’s disappointing because you saw the impact and the profile of him in terms of what we want to try and do in possession. So that’s disappointing for everybody but something that we’ll have to deal with.”

Louie Barry

“He’s obviously desperate to make an impact,” the Owls boss explained. “He came here in order to do that and it feels probably at the moment that’s been taken away from him. We hope to see him back certainly within the coming weeks. Maybe Saturday, we’ll see what the next few days look like.”

Liam Cooper and Billy Mitchell

“Coops has trained yesterday and today, Billy similarly,” Wednesday’s new manager says.

Harry Gray

“He’s fine,” said Challinor. “He got a whack on the hip on Friday and then straight away when he went to do the warm-up on Sunday he sort of felt it. So we obviously made the change and George went onto the bench for him. Harry’s trained today so fingers crossed it is just a soft tissue injury and he’ll be available for us at the weekend.”

Joe Lumley

“We’re hoping that Lummers will be back with us really soon,” DC said. “Possibly at the weekend. He’s done some training with us this week and has ticked off most things… He’ll be really important because of his experience and the level that he’s played at.”

Ashley Maynard-Brewer

“Ash obviously took a bit of a whack but he’s fine,” says the Owls manager. “He probably misses the weekend, and will be back involved early next week on either Monday or Tuesday.”

Reece James

James is expected back around mid-December after picking up a groin injury earlier this month.

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Mason Burstow

“He got injured in the Blackpool game,” Challinor told the media recently. “So he’s going to be out for four to six weeks. I think he’s tweaked a groin with the shot he had from the halfway line.”

Ali Al-Hamadi

“Ali joined in today, but the weekend probably comes to soon for him,” said Challinor.

Tyler Onyango

“He’s working very, very hard but there’s a long way to go for him so we do all what we can to support him,” Pedersen told the media just days before his departure. “He’s a top young man and he’s working hard so we’ll do all what we can to help him.

“Of course, it is difficult for him to come here and then get injured in his first game,” said Pedersen. “But we have good group and they support him and do all what they can to help him.”

The Opposition

As for the Pilgrims, they’ve got a whole host of their own issues. Michael Baidoo has been ruled out for ‘longer than a month’, while top scorer, Aribim Peppe, will miss the next few games due to injury.

Elsewhere, Julio Pleguezuelo and captain, Joe Edwards, will miss this weekend’s clash, while Alex Mitchell faces a late fitness test ahead of the tie, and the same goes for former Owl, Tyreeq Bakinson. Caleb Watts, meanwhile, could return, with Matthew Sorinola only due back in training next week.

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More than 30,000 fans are expected at Hillsborough as the new Sheffield Wednesday manager prepares to oversee his first home league match since succeeding Henrik Pedersen.

The Owls have not tasted victory at S6 since October 17 and have collected just 10 points from seven league matches on home soil this season. Challinor knows improving that record will be crucial if Wednesday are to climb the table and reignite their promotion push.

“Momentum is massively important,” he told The Wednesday Word. “We’ve got 11 games to play between now and New Year’s Day.

“Nine of those are against teams that would be putting themselves down to be in the shake-up for the play-offs and promotion. The other one is a derby against your local rivals.

“We know that we need to build that momentum as quickly as we can and put a run together. Once that happens and with players coming back, it gives us a real opportunity to build something. We have that opportunity on Saturday. It’s especially important here at Hillsborough, but we also need to make sure we take that momentum away from home as well.”

Wednesday head into the weekend in ninth position in League One, three points adrift of the play-off places, albeit with a game in hand on several of the sides above them.

Significant changes to the starting XI appear likely, with a number of key players set to return after being rested for the midweek defeat to Accrington Stanley. Joe Lumley, Di’Shon Bernard, Ricardo Santos, Liam Cooper, Barry Bannan, Jaden Heskey, Harry Gray and Davis Keillor-Dunn are all pushing to come back into the side.

On their lengthy injury list, Challinor said: “We’re just got to make sure we get players back and keep them back.

“It can’t become a cycle of one player returning and another going out injured. If that keeps happening, we never get any stronger. We’ve got to make sure that’s not the case.”

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The nature of Challinor’s first two games in charge means that he’s practically seen all of the players that are in and around the first team at Wednesday, and then some.

A 4-0 defeat tonight meant that the Owls finished their group stage of the tournament in second place, but the fact that they were already qualified for the Round of 32 made it a bit of a dead rubber. With that in mind, 11 changes were made to the starting XI, and a whole host of youngsters were handed their debuts.

Challinor wasn’t overly concerned with what he saw in his first game in charge at Hillsborough, and after the Oldham Athletic game, the Accrington loss and the FA Youth Cup, he’s pleased to have got a full lay of the land at his new club.

“I suppose it was what I expected, really,” he said when asked about the game. “The one thing it has done, it means I’ve seen pretty much every player over the time I’ve been at the club, in terms of first-team fixtures, youth-team fixtures, a mixture of what it looked like today.

“But it was also about understanding where the priorities were and what was most important. There are some things, as I said, that will be good from tonight, including the fact that some young players have made their debuts. It is a really proud moment for them and something they will remember.

“Obviously, there are going to be challenges, but all of them should be better for the experience, whether it was good or bad, and it should stand them in good stead moving forward as they begin their journeys…

“We had to make structured substitutions so I went into it not expecting loads, understanding what it would look like and probably you have to get yourself in that headspace as early as possible so as not to become frustrated because young players especially are going to make mistakes. Some of the more senior ones in terms of minutes and football are still very young and still make mistakes.”

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Left-back Max Lowe has suffered a recurrence of the hamstring problem that sidelined him for lengthy spell earlier this season.

New boss Dave Challinor has confirmed the versatile defender is expected to be out of action for between four to six weeks.

“It’s disappointing f…

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With the dust having now settled after the FA Cup defeat to Oldham Athletic on Sunday night, we can look back at everything else that played out of the last seven days in the Wednesday world…

We saw Joel Akpobi and Denny Oliver join Pontefract Collieries on loan for the month, with both making their debuts as second-half substitutes in a 2-0 defeat to Dunston. Josh Bayliss headed out for the time same period to Farnborough, but couldn’t help them avoid a 2-1 loss to Chelmsford City as he got 90 minutes under his belt.

A lack of international call-ups for Harry Gray (England youth), Ali Al-Hamadi (Iraq) and Yan Valery (Tunisia) means that the clash with Plymouth Argyle will go ahead.

Kieran Morrison will head away with Northern Ireland, while Jordi Liongola (Burundi), Sean Fusire (Zimbabwe) and Will Grainger (Wales U19s) have also been called up. The latter trio, however, don’t count towards any postponement due to their lack of minutes this season.

Welcome to Sheffield Wednesday Mondays…

It’s often busy at Hillsborough, but the week just gone was more so than usual… Dave Challinor was appointed as manager, and we sought plenty of insight on what he could bring to the table. One of his old youth teammates spoke to us about Challinor the player, and you can watch an interview with Sam Byrne - a journalist who knows him incredibly well - below:

There was also plenty to offer after the new boss was officially unveiled, with TWW giving a glimpse behind the curtain of the first day at training, and Simon Wilson giving his thoughts to us on the appointment - and what the Owls can do in the transfer market going forward.

Elsewhere, there was an update on Louie Barry’s fitness, and Pete Shuttleworth bid an emotional farewell after he left his role as one of the coaches at Middlewood Road. We also had a great interview with lifelong Owls fan - and actor - Tommy Craig. Watch that below:

You can catch all the fallout from the Oldham defeat here on the TWW, as well as a match report from Sheffield Wednesday Ladies’ latest outing, by checking out our various different tabs.

And that’s that for this Sheffield Wednesday Mondays! We’ll be doing a new one every week to make sure you can see our best work, and if you want to uncheck the other sections, then feel free to do so…

Davis Keillor-Dunn cancelled out Calum Kavanagh’s goal after the hosts took the lead in the second half, but some sloppy defending in extra time gave Will Sutton the opportunity to head home what proved to be the winning goal.

Things boiled over at one point as a fracas involving the home team’s dugout saw manager, Micky Mellon, sent off, but he ended up with the last laugh after his side progressed into the second round of the competition.

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Assistant manager, Gary Brabin, spoke in his place after the game, while Challinor had a few choice words to sum up a tough first match in charge.

Here’s some of what the two had to say…

Gary Brabin

“It was a real end-to-end game, and I think it would have been a fantastic game to watch, and I thought it was a game that we deserved to win.

“I think that was a real big show of character. They’re a good side, they’ve got good players, they’ve got a new manager come in that they’re wanting to impress. I thought we deservedly took the lead and they’ve equalised and we want to see a little bit of grit, a bit of character, and I thought we showed that.

“The fans were behind us today, it was a great atmosphere and I think they could see as well the fight on the pitch and determination. It was a great cup tie.”

Dave Challinor

“You look at the second half, and it looked a whole lot better, a whole lot more like what I want a Sheffield Wednesday team to look like,” added the Owls boss.

“There are bits in the final third that we can work on in terms of areas, with some great bits of play where we get down the side, but there’s that last bit.

“We’ve got to look at where we’ve got bodies. But we’ve got to be able to do that for 90 minutes or 120 minutes. At the moment, by the looks of what today looked like, we can’t do that.

“Now, there are, I suppose, extenuating circumstances with some players. We’re short on numbers. But there’s no excuse for that.”

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The midfielder has missed the Owls’ last two matches after suffering a minor hamstring injury in the home draw with Cambridge United.

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The striker, on a season-long loan from Hull City, picked up a groin injury against Blackpool a week ago.

“He’s going to be four to six weeks,” said new Owls boss Dave Challinor. “I think he tweaked a groin with the shot he had from our half of the pitch.

Versatile forward Harry Gray was initially selected on the bench in Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Oldham Athletic. But he was a late withdrawal from the squad, with George Brown receiving a late call up.

Challinor said: “Harry got a whack on the on the hip and has obviously tried to go out and do the warm-up and was unable to run. It’s a soft tissue one. It’s not a serious one. We were hoping he was going to be involved today because we had a young, inexperienced bench. Maybe players, because of the position of the football club, have been asked to play minutes at levels they’re not not ready for, and that’s the reality.

“Harry would have been an important one for us so it was disappointing too lose him. Hopefully he will be available for the weekend.”

Wednesday were forced into making an early change in goal, with Ashley Maynard-Brewer substituted in the 17th minute and replaced by Connal Trueman. Maynard-Brewer had been involved in a hefty challenge with Oldham striker Mike Fondop.

“Ashley felt ill and there was a collision with Fondop,” he said. “We had to make a change but we hope that Joe Lumley will be back in training next week. It would be a huge lift if that is the case. If not, I’m sure Connal will go in and do a good job.”

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The Owls were dumped out of the competition, losing 2-1 to League Two Oldham Athletic after extra time at Boundary Park.

It was a disappointing way for Challinor to start his Wednesday reign. Challinor, who made four changes to his starting line-up, was unhappy with their first half performance.

He told the media, "I'm really frustrated and disappointed not to have won. The first half was like a testimonial. It was miles too slow and it was nothing like the team I want it to look like, which I can maybe sort of accept a little bit.

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"Second half was much better. We probably had our best spell when we conceded. The subs came on and changed the dynamic of the game. It would have been great to be able to start in that manner or with that personnel, but we were unable to do so.

"And then I suppose there's always been a problem in terms of conceding goals. We've conceded two really soft goals, and that has to stop. I think as the game went into extra time, it became more of a tendency to not be as aggressive in terms of moving the ball or putting the ball in areas. Maybe because of the physical part of what that looks like, and that needs to get a whole lot better."

Calum Kavanagh fired the Latics into a 66th-minute lead only for Davis Keillor-Dunn to level the match and send the tie into extra time… But Will Sutton's 109th minute header proved decisive and stretched the Owls' winless run to five matches.

"You can't get away from the two goals we have conceded; they are really bad goals," admitted Challinor. "Regardless of what league you play in, who you play against, you have to compete. The behaviours that the players spoke about before I was even in the building are out compete, outrun, and outplay, and outfought.

"You have to do that as a minimum. We'll have to do that against Plymouth on Saturday, and without being disrespectful, Plymouth are a better team than Oldham are. The league status says that's that's the case so you have to do that as a bare minimum. We have got to get miles better at doing that otherwise, the stuff you do on the ball will count for nothing."

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The Owls take on the Latics at 5.15pm this afternoon for a televised clash in the oldest club competition in the world, with both sides eager to try and book their spot in the second round.

Mellon has come up against Wednesday as a player and as a manager - with mixed success - and says that everyone at his club are looking forward to playing host to Dave Challinor’s first game in charge later today.

“It’s the FA Cup and it’s a really good tie, an exciting tie,” he told The Oldham Times. “So we’re looking forward to the game… It’s coming off the back of a win, so you look forward to it more when it’s on the back of a win. It promises to be a great game.

“You’ve got to appreciate these games. Sheffield Wednesday will bring a big support, I’m sure that we’ll have a big support. It’s on TV and a bit of a mad kick-off time, such is the way things are now, but we’re really looking forward to it and we’ll be ready when it comes around.

“It’s a good tie for us. I don’t know if we’d get a bigger one at this stage of the competition… I know Dave really well, and I’m sure he will do really well there, he’s a good guy.

“On a personal level I’m really pleased he’s got his opportunity at a massive football club and on a professional level it’s good to see. He’s done his time, he’s worked the leagues, he’s learned his craft and it’s good to see guys like that getting an opportunity at big clubs, he deserves that.”

The Scot went on to add, “I love the FA Cup. I’ve had good moments in it and love when it comes around this time of the year.

“If we can make some memories for the fans and for the players as well and their families, and ourselves, that’s the thing that you try to attack. It’s still a romantic competition that everybody still gets excited about.”

This article is available for free, but if you like what you’ve seen from The Wednesday Word, then a paid subscription would mean the world to us - and allow us to keep doing everything that we’re doing in the TWW universe. We want to keep improving, and growing, and for that we need your support! Thank you!

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Sunday’s FA Cup first round tie at Oldham Athletic will mark Challinor’s first match in charge, with the spotlight intensified by live TNT Sports coverage from Boundary Park.

It also represents a chance for the Owls to banish memories of their embarrassing pre-season defeat at the same venue.

On recent form, Oldham will fancy their chances of causing an upset. Wednesday have won just one of their last eight league matches and head to Lancashire searching for momentum.

However, Challinor has been encouraged by what he has seen from his players since officially taking charge on Tuesday. The 51-year-old has praised the attitude and application of the squad during his opening training sessions and feels there has been a positive response to the changes introduced by his coaching staff.

There was an immediate lift in the mood when Challinor and his staff walked through the door, although the new Wednesday boss admitted he would have been concerned had there not been.

“As you would expect, the players have been lively,” he told The Wednesday Word. “If they’re not lively now, then I’m not sure they’re ever going to be. If I don’t see them at the best now, then we’re all in trouble.

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It was confirmed on Thursday morning that the former Plymouth Argyle and Derby County assistant had move on from Middlewood Road following Dave Challinor’s appointment, and it’s clear that he’s going to be missed.

This afternoon he took to Instagram to say his goodbyes, sending a number of thank yous as he looks to ‘bounce back from the disappointment’.

“So, my time at Sheffield Wednesday has come to an end,” he said. “It’s happened much sooner than I had hoped, but this is elite sport and the world we are working in.

”Firstly, I would like to thank Henrik for bringing me in and giving me the opportunity to work at a club like Sheffield Wednesday. It’s a truly special place to work… To the staff, who I’ve formed really good relationships with, I know that I now have many friendships that will last beyond this last year.

”And to the players - thank you to all who I have worked with. You are a brilliant set of footballers, but also a great set of lads - and I really hope you go on and get promoted this season. A special thank you for all the messages, these are all saved and will be read over and over and help me bounce back from the disappointment.

”I’m not proud of the results over the last year, they in the circumstances were made somewhat irrelevant. What I am proud of, though, is that we fought and worked so hard in Sheffield Wednesday’s lowest point, we kept the club competing. Even as everything was ripping apart, we managed to keep the club, the staff and players together. We competed against all the odds and no one ever downed tools or took their foot off the gas. It’s a testament to everyone who was there at the club and something that should not be forgotten as time passes.

”The fan connection through these times has shown that they appreciated how we kept it afloat and they understood the challenge we faced. Thanks for all the positive messages during these times.

”And then to witness the start of the new ownership and how they have invested and changed the whole dynamic of the club for the better, it’s been amazing to see.

”The day against West Brom was one of my fondest football memories and it started this new era which I have no doubt will be successful…

”My family will never let me forget Wednesday – especially because the shirts are all around the house! - and I am honoured that I got to experience this football club and all that it stands for. Good luck to everyone for the future.”

One of those to reply was Liam Cooper, who said, “One of the good guys! Pleasure getting to meet you and form the friendship we now have. I’m sure you’ll be back in the game in no time mate. All the best to you and yours.”

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The 51-year-old was quizzed on a wide range of subjects ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup first round tie against Oldham Athletic. Here are some of the key talking points from the press briefing that you won’t have seen online…

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The Owls boss said in today’s press conference that he didn’t expect anybody back on Sunday who wasn’t in contention for the 1-1 draw with Blackpool, however there will be an extra man missing as Sil Swinkels serves his one-game suspension.

Jamal Lowe could be back in the mix after he completed his three-match ban for a red card at Notts County, and Challinor has given an update on where some of his other players are at in terms of returning to the matchday squad for Wednesday.

Here’s what he had to say…

Joe Lumley

“He’s unlikely to be involved on Sunday. Again, if we were, if Sunday was the final game of the season, I would imagine Joe would be knocking on our door saying, ‘I am playing’. It was obviously a contact injury.

“He’s been outside. He’s been joining in with the goalkeepers. He’s been limited with his diving just out of precaution more than anything else. But we’re hoping that next week he will be absolutely fine and available, which is again a big positive.

Liam Cooper

“Probably not for the weekend, but more precautionary than anything else. Coop is a warrior. He’ll be saying that he wants to play. If needs must, then maybe we could. But we’d love that to not be the case, and probably look at Plymouth for him, rather than risk anything prior to that.

Ali Al-Hamadi

“Ali has got a little a little tweak. I think he hurt his knee doing a finishing session, but it’s not as bad as feared. We would hope he’ll be joining in training next week.”

Di’Shon Bernard

“Dish is fine and available. He has trained all week. Obviously, for somebody like Dish, who has been out for so long, him coming back was brilliant for everybody. We’re still managing that, but you wouldn’t think he had the injury that he had.

“He wants to train and play all the time, which is brilliant. I suppose managing him the other way is much better than having to kick him out on the pitch, saying get out there. He would be a valuable addition to us.”

The opposition

Oldham will be without Kai Payne and Kane Drummond as they continue to serve their respective suspensions, while Keenan Appiah-Forson has missed the last couple of games. Elsewhere, the likes of Jack Stevens and Ryan Delaney have been out on a more long-term basis.

We’ll have to wait and see if Micky Mellon has any fresh injury concerns for the weekend.

Thanks for being part of The Wednesday Word family. Your fiver a month helps fund the entire project - whether it’s the articles, the YouTube or the social media platforms. Your support is hugely appreciated! Don’t forget you can get 10% off at the TWW store - just drop me a message for your code!

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Pete Shuttleworth was brought in by Henrik Pedersen just over a year ago as the former Derby County and Plymouth Argyle assistant joined the Owls’ camp during the toughest season in the club’s history.

It’s understood that Shuttleworth - who wasn’t spotted at yesterday’s open training session - has now moved on from Hillsborough after the appointment of Clint Hill and Antony Sweeney as Dave Challinor’s first team coaches.

The 47-year-old really bought into the city during his time in Sheffield, raising thousands of pounds for Weston Park Cancer Charity and becoming a valued member of the setup at Middlewood Road.

Sporting Director, Simon Wilson, said of the change, “Pete has been an important part of the football operation during a period of considerable change at Sheffield Wednesday.

“His extensive knowledge of the game and recruitment network have been hugely valuable, while his ability to bring people together, encourage collaboration and support players with genuine care and professionalism has been greatly appreciated.

“His commitment has also extended beyond football, with Pete making a positive contribution to community causes and initiatives connected to the club.

“On behalf of everyone at Sheffield Wednesday, I would like to thank Pete for his dedication and commitment and wish him every success for the future.”

Elsewhere, it’s been confirmed that Giles Coke will leave the first team under Challinor - moving back to the U21s - while Andy Holdsworth ‘will continue to focus on individual player development for those aged 18 and above;.

Matt Hamshaw will remain on board as an assistant to Challinor alongside Hill and Sweeney, while Daryl Flahavan stays on as goalkeeper coach.

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The former Aston Villa youngster worked under Challinor on three separate occasions at Stockport County and left a lasting impression every time.

Barry’s first spell proved hugely successful, with the skilful wide man scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 22 appearances as County clinched the League Two title in the 2023-24 campaign.

After that impressive loan stint, Barry returned the following season and elevated his game to another level in League One. He registered 16 goals and three assists in just 24 appearances before Villa exercised their option to recall him in January.

Disappointing spells at Hull City and Sheffield United followed but County moved quickly to bring him back for a third loan spell in January 2026. Injuries restricted Barry to just 10 appearances but he still managed to find the back of the net on four occasions, including a crucial strike in the second leg of County’s play-off semi-final victory over Stevenage.

Barry arrived at Sheffield Wednesday this summer as the club’s marquee signing and made a promising start to life at S6, recording four goal contributions before suffering a serious ankle injury sustained in the 2-1 triumph at Wycombe Wanderers brought his momentum to a halt.

But the 23-year-old is on the comeback trail. He is back out on the training pitches at Middlewood Road as he steps up his rehabilitation programme.

Understandably, Challinor is relishing the prospect of being reunited with a player he knows so well.

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Like all of the teams in the third and fourth tier of English football, Wednesday are exempt from the international breaks that come and go over the course of the campaign, and instead have to apply for postponements as each one comes around should they have enough players called up to represent their respective countries.

It happened earlier in the season when Henrik Pedersen’s side saw games moved due to several call-ups at Hillsborough, and there was always an expectation that that might happen again this month.

Three players have to be called up in order for Wednesday to request a postponement of their game against Plymouth Argyle on November 14th, but not all players count towards that tally…

The criteria is as follows:

• A Club must have three or more players called up across full, Under 21, Under 20 or Under 19 levels.

• For a player to count for the policy, they must be either named in the starting XI or be a named substitute making an appearance prior to the 75^th minute, in either 50% of their Club’s first team matches OR in four of the last five first team matches.

• For players signed in late August or January, a pro rata basis will apply for fixtures that they have been eligible for their current Club. Injuries and suspensions will not be accounted for within this, while standard loan players will be taken into consideration.

• A Club which has their first and second choice goalkeepers selected for international duty is able to request a postponement

• Players named on international stand-by lists or long lists will not count towards the three players at the time of announcement.

With that in mind, the call-ups of Jordi Liongola (Burundi) and Sean Fusire (Zimbabwe) don’t count towards the total, with Kieran Morrison’s Northern Ireland the only one so far that contributes on that front. Ali Al-Hamadi, who has struggled with injuries, has been left out of Iraq’s upcoming squad, while Will Grainger - should he be called up to the Wales youth squad - hasn’t played enough for Wednesday to be factored in.

It means that Wednesday are waiting to hear about Yan Valery (Tunisia) and Harry Gray (England U19s) to see whether the Pilgrims clash could be postponed or not. The Tunisians will name their squad on Saturday, while England will name their squad the day before (Friday).

With that in mind, there’s not much wiggle room for what could be Dave Challinor’s first league game, with both Valery and Gray needing to make the cut in order for a postponement to be requested. Plymouth didn’t miss any games during the last international period.

As explained earlier in the season, Jersey Mike’s Trophy matches are not subject to the international call-ups policy, so the Accrington Stanley game will remain as scheduled even if the league game is moved.

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The League One club continue to operate under an EFL business plan following their exit from administration.

Eighteen new signings arrived at Hillsborough during a hectic squad rebuild. Sporting director Simon Wilson admitted they “emptied the piggy bank” to land Davis Keillor-Dunn on loan from Wrexham. Keillor-Dunn was their 18th and final summer recruit.

While paid fees for players including Ricardo Santos, Jordi Liongola and Louie Barry, their recruitment drive largely centred on free transfers and loans. The Owls currently have six loan players in their squad, including Keillor-Dunn, whose agreement is due to expire in January.

Wilson acknowledged at Dave Challinor’s unveiling as their new boss that there is still uncertainty surrounding the club’s spending power heading into the New Year.

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Challinor, who left Stockport County in mid-June after losing in the League One play-off final, was named Wednesday’s new manager on Sunday. The 51-year-old “unanimous choice” to succeed Henrik Pedersen at Hillsborough. It is the first managerial appointment of Arise’s ownership.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Wilson, who worked closely with Challinor during his time at Edgeley Park, said: “Dave’s situation was completely unique because here was a manager available without compensation who wasn’t coming off the back of an unsuccessful spell, but a hugely successful one. That’s a rare opportunity.

“We knew there would be restrictions in our search because we weren’t in a position to prise a manager away from another club. Naturally, that reduced the size of the market.

“But regardless of compensation, Dave would have been on any shortlist. He is on plenty of shortlists. There was strong competition for his services and we’re very fortunate that we were able to bring him here.”

Wilson stressed Wednesday went through a rigorous selection process in hiring Challinor. He told the club’s in-house media that they spoke to a number of candidates.

“Every managerial appointment is about finding the right person, for the right club, in the right circumstances and at the right time,” he said. “There are lots of brilliant managers out there, but some fit your situation better than others.

“We had to go through a thorough process to establish exactly what we wanted from this appointment at this particular moment. Dave was always part of our thinking, as were others, but the process was important.

“Of course, I probably had an unfair advantage because I’ve effectively had a five-year interview with Dave that only ended in the summer.

“That said, we made sure other people were involved in the process to provide independence and challenge my views. It was important that the owners received the best possible recommendation, and ultimately they shared my belief that Dave was the right man for the job.”

When asked what Challinor will bring to the role, Wilson replied: “With Dave, you get unbelievable clarity. He’s incredibly consistent and level-headed, whether he’s dealing with pressure, adversity, good runs of form or difficult periods. He has a proven winning methodology and, over the course of a 46 or 55-game season, it’s delivered results time and again throughout his career.

“He’s also very easy to work with and low-maintenance... apart from the occasional bad day!

“Throughout his career, Dave has been at clubs without huge resources or specialist staff, so he’s effectively had to do every job. That gives him a real appreciation of what it takes to run a football club. He’s a strong collaborator, enjoys working with people and likes to have fun while getting things done.”

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Challinor, who oversaw Stockport County’s impressive rise from National League to League One play-off finalists, was appointed Owls boss on a three-and-a-half year contract running until 2030.

The 51-year-old, who boasts a 53 per cent win ratio in his 16-year managerial career, was formally unveiled to the media this afternoon. He was asked about his managerial style at his first press conference.

“I’ve just spoken to the players there in the first meeting,” he said. “The big thing for me is they will know what they’ll get. They’ve got clarity, real clarity around what our structure will be, roles and responsibilities, standards, behaviours that we need to live every day. They’ll get honesty.

“I expect them, vice versa, to be honest with us in terms of what we’re looking to do, we’re here to facilitate and get the best out of them.

“They’ll get somebody who’s all in and we’ll do whatever it takes. I won’t ask him to do something I can’t do, except maybe run round on a football pitch now!

“And they’ll get high challenge, high support. I would be doing them a disservice if they weren’t pushed to be the best versions themselves every day and that’s something that’s served me in good stead over the course of my managerial career. It’ll be no different here.”

Chester-born Challinor takes over a Wednesday side ninth in League One, two points outside the play-offs.

His first match in charge will be Sunday’s televised FA Cup first-round tie at League Two outfit Oldham Athletic, kick-off 5:15pm.

On Wednesday’s potential, Challinor said: “An amazing football club with an amazing history and a huge opportunity to continue to move forward in something that’s really exciting.

“The first few days really have shown the size of the club, the amazing people that are working here and brilliant fan base. Hopefully we can continue to push things forward.”

This article is available for free, but if you like what you’ve seen from The Wednesday Word, then a paid subscription would mean the world to us - and allow us to keep doing everything that we’re doing in the TWW universe. We want to keep improving, and growing, and for that we need your support! Thank you!

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