Ex-Sheffield Wednesday player issues plea to prospective takeover candidates - it involves Henrik Pedersen | OneFootball

The former Owl has backed the current manager to stay in his role once the dust has settled regarding the ownership situation

Former Sheffield Wednesday player Michael Gray has urged whoever takes over the club to stick by current manager Henrik Pedersen when the takeover is complete.

The Owls are all but certain to start next season in League One, following a tumultuous summer of off-field issues that bled into on-field affairs, with contract breaches leading to a mass exodus of senior first-team players and subsequent embargos preventing the club from replacing all of them.

Then, Wednesday were docked 12 points when they finally went into administration, and another six were taken away due to the failure to fulfil financial obligations.

Therefore, it's unsurprising that the Owls are still on negative points, having struggled on the pitch this season, winning just once in 19 games. At the helm of that side has been Henrik Pedersen, whose foray into English management has been via a baptism of fire.

Despite this, Danny Rohl's former assistant has been calm and composed in the face of adversity, and, speaking to the Sheffield Star, Gray believes that the Dane has done enough to be allowed to take Wednesday forward.

Michael Gray urges new Sheffield Wednesday owners to stick with Henrik Pedersen

There have been many occasions in football where a change in ownership can lead to a change in dugout personnel, and when Wednesday's new owner is revealed, all eyes will be on whether Pedersen remains the man to take the Owls forward.

Gray, who ended his career at Hillsborough after spending much of it at Sunderland, believes that the Danish coach should remain in his post, feeling that a on win in19 games start shouldn't be pinned on him.

"It's so difficult to judge a man whose hands are pretty much tied behind his back. You've got a squad of players who are not being paid. I think he deserves a lot of credit," Gray told the Sheffield Star.

"Every time I've seen him do an interview, or I've seen him in front of the camera, he keeps things as in-house as he possibly can. I think he and the players have kept their dignity.

"I think everybody knew that it was going to be a tough season for Sheffield Wednesday, but those players deserve a pat on the back. I think Barry Bannan's the one who seems to front everything for the players' side of things. He's going to go down as a legend of the football club.

"But the manager's done a decent enough job, and I hope he's given the opportunity, because of what he's had to go through, to maybe give Sheffield Wednesday the chance to bounce back."

Nobody will envy the job that Pedersen has had to do at Hillsborough this season, and with expectations on the pitch taking a back seat to everything that has happened off of it these last few months, not many have judged the results.

However, Pedersen's commitment to the club over the summer and the way he's handled himself throughout the opening half of the campaign is more than admirable, and a lot of people associated with Wednesday will be grateful for that and would want him to stay.

Sheffield Wednesday's new owners don't need to make a knee-jerk manager decision straight away

The new owners at Hillsborough, as and when they come in, will need to make a good impression, and keeping Henrik Pedersen at the helm will be a solid way to start.

Wednesday's fate on the field is all but sealed, with League One looming, and that likely won't be changing, no matter who is in the dugout. Therefore, keeping a respectable figure in charge in Pedersen will help keep fans onside.

Then, when the performances and results matter a little more next season, as the Owls look to bounce back and build up under new ownership, that will be where the manager will be looked at a little closer.

So, with the short-term goals being to stabilise the club off-field, and on-field results taking a back seat to that for the rest of the campaign, Pedersen seems to be the man for Wednesday.