Sheffield Wednesday: David Storch told to make Henrik Pedersen u-turn - 'my gut is telling me' | OneFootball

It's been reported that Sheffield Wednesday want to stick with Henrik Pedersen, but FLW's Wednesday correspondent has doubts over the wisdom of this.

Sheffield Wednesday seem set to stick with manager Henrik Pedersen for next season, despite being on course for a record low points total in the EFL this season.

There is no doubt whatsoever that this has been an unbelievably challenging season for Sheffield Wednesday. Hamstrung by points deductions and severe restrictions over who they could bring into their first-team squad, the Owls have had what seems certain to be a record-breakingly bad Championship season, entering the Easter Weekend without even a positive points tally as a result of those deductions.

For manager Henrik Pedersen, it has truly been a season from hell. He was appointed to his first managerial position in the English game last summer following the departure of Danny Rohl, but has been unable to get his team to perform, and points deductions are only a partial explanation for this. Wednesday would be miles clear at the bottom of the table, even if those deductions hadn't been applied.

But Wednesday seem likely to keep him, at the end of this season. The Sheffield Star has reported that Pedersen has already had a meeting with prospective new owner David Storch, and that Pedersen will be leading the club through their summer rebuild alongside Head of Recruitment Kevin Beadell if the takeover progresses as is hoped.

Sheffield Wednesday warned over sticking with Henrik Pedersen

Football League World have spoken to our resident Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Patrick McKenna about this news, but Patrick doesn't feel that this is the right direction for the new ownership to take: "Ultimately that would be the wrong decision, I think. I know this season has been incredibly hard. It has not been a normal season for a manager. But I just don't think my gut is telling me that Pedersen is cut out for a tough season in League One."

Although Patrick is aware that the club's circumstances this season have made Pedersen's role an impossible job, he's seen issues with Pedersen's management style which could cause issues next season: "It's very hard to judge him at all, but at times his approach and some of his end game management is slightly baffling and there needs to be ruthlessness and a bit of experience about our manager next season."

Patrick feels that the 15-point deduction means that Wednesday have to get off to a flying start next season, and that patience in the stands will wear out quickly if the team starts slowly: "We're going to be starting next season on -15. A quick start is needed, and I just don't if we'd get that with Pedersen. I do think that if he doesn't get going next season, the fans may start to turn and reflect that we've made things harder and wasted time."

But while Patrick feels that Pedersen would not be the right choice to lead the team next season, he would like him to retain a position within the club: "I would certainly like him to stay at the club for some role next season, but I just don't think that first team manager would be the best role for him or the club."

Henrik Pedersen has faced insurmountable difficulties at Sheffield Wednesday this season

To say that Henrik Pedersen's introduction to English football management has been a baptism of fire would be something of an understatement. Sheffield Wednesday were already under a transfer embargo by the end of the summer 2025 transfer window, and a twelve-point deduction for entering administration at the of October killed off any realistic chance of them being able to stay up, especially when it was followed up with a further six-point deduction over their previous failure to pay wages on time.

Things can hardly be said to have improved since administration, either. It had been hoped at the time that the sale process could be completed quickly and that the club might even be able to start competing again if a sale could be completed by the time of the January window.

But instead, this became a protracted process which dragged on until the end of February and ended with the preferred bidder, a consortium led by the professional gambler James Bord, collapsed amid suggestions that there were issues over proving the source of their funding.

With the club back up for sale, the Storch family's group, Arise Capital, were the new preferred bidders, although their bid for Wednesday will not - as the Bord bid had - be sufficient to prevent a mandatory 15-point deduction for the start of next season, as per EFL rules, because it will fail to pay unsecured creditors a minimum of 25p in the pound from the administration. This, of course, makes next season a huge challenge for the club as well.

There is no doubt, then, that Pedersen has had to face huge - and ultimately insurmountable - challenges this season, but the issue perhaps has been just how little promise Sheffield Wednesday fans have seen from his teams. The restrictions that he has been working under have been savage, but at the same time, his team has fallen so far short of requirements this season that some will question whether he's the right man to lead the revival.

The appeal to David Storch is obvious. If nothing else, Pedersen knows his way around the club and will be fully aware of who he will want to keep beyond the end of this season. He offers continuity, and he has managed a team in a near-impossible position with dignity and grace. Furthermore, Pedersen has already publicly stated that he wants to stay.

But that revival needs to start at the beginning of next season. It seems certain that Sheffield Wednesday will start next season already adrift of the rest of League One, and pressure will rise quickly if there is anything like a continuation of this season's debacle. Even in the event that Henrik Pedersen is kept on beyond the end of this season, anything bar a strong start next time around will surely put his position at serious risk.