Sky Sports pundit reveals "truly incredible" thing about Sheffield Wednesday right now | OneFootball

The Owls are looking to maintain their Championship status amid a backdrop of continued turmoil

Former Sheffield Wednesday defender and Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe has heaped praise on the Owls' squad who have started the season under a backdrop of continued turmoil and uncertainty.

Developments at Hillsborough have made headlines in recent weeks and months as those on the terraces continue to protest against Dejphon Chansiri's controversial day-to-day running of the Steel City outfit, which has led to an extremely challenging predicament for those on the pitch and new head coach, Henrik Pedersen.

Many key players from last season departed S6 alongside former boss, Danny Rohl, with Djeidi Gassama being sold for just £2.2m to Rangers, as well as the likes of Josh Windass and Michael Smith handing in their notices to leave the club by mutual consent after a continuation of delayed wage payments.

It has left many supporters and outsiders with little choice but to predict a fall back into League One for the first time in three years come the end of the season. Yet, despite these claims, those on the pitch have been the subject of high praise for their commitment to the cause, which included a remarkable EFL Cup upset against Leeds United, during which only two senior professionals were selected in Pedersen's starting lineup.

Andy Hinchcliffe issues "truly incredible" Sheffield Wednesday claim amid Dejphon Chansiri, boardroom saga

As a result of transfer embargoes and fee restrictions, with the EFL monitoring every piece of business conducted in South Yorkshire, Pedersen has only been able to add Ethan Horvath and Harry Amass to his threadbare squad, with the bleak situation further echoed by the fact Manchester United are paying for every aspect of the latter's loan move across the Pennines.

Despite the toxic atmosphere surrounding the club, which led to a mass boycott of the aforementioned Yorkshire derby in the EFL Cup - a situation once again planned for the upcoming third round tie against Grimsby Town - following an extremely disruptive pre-season and a lack of clarity regarding Wednesday's long-term future as Chansiri continues to stick with his £100m valuation of the club, Hinchcliffe, who made 97 appearances for the Owls between 1998 and 2002, had nothing but good words to say about those on the pitch who continue to represent the club with the utmost professionalism.

When discussing Wednesday's start to the season, which has yielded one point from a possible 12 on Sky Sports' Essential EFL podcast alongside Simeon Gholam and Jobi McAnuff, the former left-back said: "(They're) clearly not the best side. They haven't got enough players, it's as simple as that.

"But I think the players and fans realise that the future of the club is about them," Hinchcliffe stated. "They're hoping, maybe, things will happen in terms of the owner (Chansiri).

"All they can do when they go out on the pitch is do the best they can with the players they've got, and I've been incredibly impressed with Sheffield Wednesday," the pundit added.

"People look at footballers these days and say 'it's all about the money, playing well and getting a move to a bigger club'. But, I think you can see with Sheffield Wednesday, what football means to their players. They really do care.

"If they just downed tools - and they could easily down tools - lots of players without that backbone could say 'I'm not having a good time here, the club's in a terrible situation, why should I bother?'. The Wednesday players are bothered, they do care about their club and I think that's been truly incredible.

"Also, Sheffield United's woes have helped a little bit as well, with them being below them!" the former Wednesday man joked, "But again, this can't go on. It needs to change.

"Ultimately, you think you can only go so far by having that resilience and desire. A couple of injuries and they're going to be short of players, they're going to end up being relegated," Hinchcliffe claimed.

"This is in no part, down to them (players) not trying and the fans not backing the players and the club. It just has to change.

"But there's no sign of that. That's the worrying thing, there's no signs of anything changing in terms of the ownership and what's happening there.

"I think we should appreciate how much footballers care about the clubs that they play for, and Sheffield Wednesday is a wonderful example of that," he concluded.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters will continue to back their team despite long-term uncertainty

Despite there being a major dark cloud over Wednesday's long-term future, there is clearly a unity between those on the pitch, in the dugout and on the terraces.

Ahead of their shock victory against Leeds last week, stand-in captain, Jamal Lowe, fully understood why only 7,801 spectators were present for a clash that would normally be played in front of a packed-out Hillsborough. This only further echoes the frustration the players have also suffered in recent times amid delayed payments and a threadbare squad short on bodies and overall quality.

Former Crystal Palace stakeholder John Textor has continuously been linked with a takeover, with it recently being reported that the American is trying to raise funds in order to take control of the club from Chansiri, who is reportedly open to discussions but a formal meeting between the two parties at present was described as "unlikely."

Wednesday's fanbase is notoriously one of the largest and most passionate in the Championship, and they will continue to back those on the pitch who are giving everything to the cause, which included a comeback draw against Wrexham on August 23rd, a game they also very nearly emerged victorious in despite being 2-0 down at half-time.