Only five of Wednesday’s 15 points in League One have come at Hillsborough. They have failed to score in three of their four home outings. Their lack of fluency in attack has left supporters frustrated and Pedersen has urged his players to be more progressive with their work in possession. He wants them to simplify things and play with more intensity.
Get 25% off an annual Wednesday Word subscription, taking the price to just £37.50 for 12 months to mark Dom Howson’s arrival at TWW.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with mid-table AFC Wimbledon, the Wednesday boss said: “We cannot expect to play 10 passes without risk and then create something. You need to play with risk. You need to play forward. You need to play your best passes. You also need to risk losing your best passes, but we don’t want to lose them in our own penalty box. We want to play on the opposite side and this is what we have trained the whole week.”
Wednesday have slipped to eighth in the table following three successive draws. Some of their performances have left a lot to be desired. But despite their mixed form, Pedersen remains convinced they are on the right lines.
“I really hope we play as we have trained this week because the boys have trained really, really well,” said Pedersen, who hinted Max Lowe could return to action this weekend following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. “It’s the first time I have seen in training this control, but also this offensive risk mindset to create and to play forward. I hope we will also see this on the pitch tomorrow.”
Not all fans are sold on Pedersen and a section of the fan base have questioned on radio phone-ins and social media whether he is the right man to lead Wednesday back into the Championship at the first time of asking following a dip in results.
“I’m as frustrated as they (the fans) are,” said Pedersen. “We want to create a powerful Sheffield Wednesday team with our aggressive pressing and quick transitions. We also want to have a Sheffield Wednesday team who have a high ball speed and who have a forward mindset. We want to create a lot when we are at Hillsborough and this is what we are working on every day in training. I’m sure it will grow and it will be better and better. It will be a strength for us in the future.”
Wimbledon travel to S6 on the back of a four-match winless run. Their last victory came at home to Doncaster Rovers on September 12.
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!
Hmm ,It’s down to him to set the tone in how we set up lots of words, need to see a better strategy on the field and more progressive especially early in the game 🤷♂️💙 .