Sheffield Wednesday now targeting “excellent” Pedersen replacement with 138 career wins

Sheffield Wednesday are now searching for a new manager, following the sacking of Henrik Pedersen on Sunday.

Pedersen spent just under 15 months at Hillsborough, during what was a difficult period for the club, who were relegated from the Championship with a points tally of 0 last season, after winning just two matches throughout the campaign.

Financial difficulties meant the Owls received an 18-point penalty, and they were relegated from the Championship in record time, although it would be unfair to blame Pedersen, given what was going on behind the scenes at the time.

However, after David Storch’s consortium completed a takeover in May, the Dane failed to kick on, with Wednesday currently sitting just eighth in the League One table, after losing their last two matches.

Most recently, the Hillsborough outfit came up short in a 2-0 defeat against Doncaster Rovers on the road, and the loss spelled the end for Pedersen, who won just 12 of his 65 games as manager, drawing 13 and losing 38.

Upon confirming the sacking of the 48-year-old, sporting director Simon Wilson said: “First and foremost, I want to thank Henrik for his professionalism, commitment and contribution during an exceptionally challenging period for Sheffield Wednesday.

“We knew the start of this season would be difficult due to the scale of change across the club, but our expectation was always that we would develop as the season progressed, establishing a recognisable style of play and greater consistency in our performances.Although we have accumulated points, we haven’t seen enough progress in those areas.”

Having parted ways with Pedersen, Storch and Wilson’s next task will be to bring in a new manager, and several targets have now been identified.

Paul Heckingbottom emerges as Sheffield Wednesday manager target

According to a report from GiveMeSport, Paul Heckingbottom has now emerged as a contender for the Sheffield Wednesday job, with the former Leeds United boss among the League One side’s targets, although he is far from the only option.

David Challinor and Dean Holden are also under consideration, with the latter currently Sergej Jakirovic’s assistant manager at Hull City, who are currently sitting tenth in the Premier League table.

Challinor, on the other hand, was most recently the manager of Stockport County, but left the club by mutual consent at the end of last season, following a 4-1 defeat against Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off final.

Heckingbottom, meanwhile, has previously received plaudits from reporter Leon Wobschall, but the Englishman has already lost a job this season, being dismissed by Preston North End in September, at which point his side were 23rd in the Championship table.

That may set some alarm bells ringing, but the 49-year-old is an experienced manager, who has amassed a total of 138 career wins across spells in England and Scotland.