Henrik Pedersen hopes to see a more offensive effort from his side this afternoon as they welcome Stoke City to Hillsborough.
On the opening day, the Owls suffered an emotional and hard-working 2-1 defeat against Leicester City, with Pierce Charles making 11 stops in an afternoon in which they were pegged back by the Foxes’ replacements for much of the second half. Wednesday received high praise for their efforts against the championship contenders after missing out on a significant preseason due to widespread off-field turmoil this summer.
New manager Henrik Pedersen has expressed his satisfaction with his players’ efforts both at the King Power Stadium and in a youthful Owls’ Carabao Cup victory at Bolton Wanderers, and has stated that with home advantage, the objective is to see them improve in controlling the ball in more offensive positions more frequently. “Stoke is a very, very well organised team,” Pedersen added. “They are solid defensively, have some excellent transition players, and are always clear about how they want to play for the boss.
“In Leicester, we were pretty well organized, but we were extremely deep on the pitch. Of course, we’re now playing at home, at Hillsborough, so we’re hoping to be a little higher on the pitch and have more possession than we had against Leicester, allowing us to take the next step in our football strategy. “It is not just about playing a good game and losing 2-1, we want to play a good game and get some points for the league.”
The hardship of Wednesday’s summer has been widely publicized, with payment concerns and other financial problems decimating the squad and leaving a sense of enormous uncertainty around S6. According to Pedersen, the squad’s efforts have been bolstered by the uncertainty that still exists.
He said, “In general, when you have a disagreement or a difficult situation in life, you may either run away or face it and learn from it. So, why do we remain in this situation? Because we can learn from it, and this is the mindset that the players, coaches, and staff have adopted. The idea is that things are difficult and you learn a fresh perspective on the issue, then you begin to go forward, only to be tested again by how powerful the culture is.
“Do we stick together, or do we cause conflict with distancing in the group? Despite the minor disagreements that have arisen from outside or wherever, the group is getting closer and closer. It’s been a storm, but where we have influence, we’ve utilized it to draw closer and learn a lot about ourselves and each other.”
Leave a Reply