The first brutal call James Bord must make at Sheffield Wednesday - it involves Henrik Pedersen | OneFootball

If James Bord completes his takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, one of his first acts must be to bring in a new manager to replace Henrik Pedersen.

It is fair to say it has been a nightmare season for Sheffield Wednesday on and off the field.

Wednesday were already facing an uphill battle to remain in the Championship after their chaotic summer under former owner Dejphon Chansiri, but their task became almost impossible after having a total of 18 points deducted.

With relegation to League One all but guaranteed, Owls supporters have been hoping for positive news on the takeover front to provide at least a degree of hope ahead of next season, but the club are still in administration over three months on from Chansiri's exit.

James Bord's consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder by the club's administrators, and the EFL are currently assessing whether to give approval for the deal to be completed, but that process is expected to take some time amid concerns over their source of funding.

Should Bord be given the green light to buy Wednesday, he will have a big job on his hands to rebuild the club in the third tier, and one of the first decisions facing him at Hillsborough will be whether to stick with manager Henrik Pedersen.

Pressure building on Henrik Pedersen amid dismal Sheffield Wednesday form

It was always likely to be a tough campaign for Wednesday, but even the most pessimistic supporters may be surprised by just how much they have struggled this season.

The Owls have just one win to their name this season, which was the 2-0 victory at Portsmouth all the way back in mid-September, and they are currently on a 24-game winless run in the league, which has smashed the previous club record of 20 matches.

If that was not bad enough for the long-suffering Wednesday fanbase, they have lost their last seven Championship outings, and they have not even scored a single goal in their last nine games in all competitions, with Pedersen's men last finding the back of the net on Boxing Day.

The Owls currently sit bottom of the table on minus seven points, and they are a staggering 39 points from safety with just 16 games remaining, meaning their relegation could be confirmed before the end of the month.

In fact, should they lose to Swansea City and Millwall in their next two games, Wednesday's fate could even be confirmed by their Steel City rivals Sheffield United if they were to suffer defeat at Bramall Lane on 22nd February, albeit that is dependent on how Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion fare over the coming weeks.

With many Owls supporters desperate to see the back of this campaign, focus has already shifted to next season, and the recent form has sparked debate about whether Pedersen should be allowed to remain in charge in League One.

James Bord must make harsh Henrik Pedersen call if he seals Sheffield Wednesday takeover

It is difficult to understate the challenging conditions that Pedersen has worked under at Wednesday this season, and it could be argued that no manager in Championship history has ever inherited a tougher situation.

The Owls lost 45 of their 60 league goals from last season after a mass exodus in the summer that saw the likes of Anthony Musaba, Djeidi Gassama, Callum Paterson, Josh Windass and Michael Smith move on, leaving Pedersen with a threadbare squad largely made up of young players and devoid of the quality needed to compete in the second tier.

Pedersen's options have been depleted further during the course of the season by many of the remaining members of the squad suffering injury issues, while he was dealt two major blows in the January transfer window as he lost long-serving captain Barry Bannan and talented striker Bailey Cadamarteri to Millwall and Wrexham respectively.

As well as the on-field problems, Pedersen has also had ongoing ownership uncertainty to deal with, and he has earned plenty of respect for the way he has conducted himself since taking over at Hillsborough, with the Dane maintaining an admirable level of positivity and optimism in a situation many would have walked away from long before now.

However, while there are many mitigating circumstances, Pedersen's record of one win in 34 games does not make for good reading, and there is little evidence to suggest he is the right man to lead a potential promotion push in League One next season.

Wednesday supporters have become increasingly frustrated with Pedersen's negative tactics in recent weeks, particularly his insistence on deploying a back three, despite his side having nothing to lose at this stage with results largely irrelevant.

Pedersen's in-game management and frequent late use of substitutes have also come in for criticism, albeit the lack of options on the bench severely limits his ability to make impactful changes, and with the Owls currently on a nine-game run without a goal, it seems he has been unable to find the answers to end the drought.

Bord made a managerial change just two months after taking over at Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic last year, while he had a big role to play in the controversial decision to replace Chris Wilder with Ruben Selles during his spell as an advisor at Sheffield United, so he is certainly not afraid of making ruthless calls.

With Bord known to be keen to implement a data-driven approach and build a squad full of young talent, he may see Pedersen as the perfect fit to oversee the rebuild, particularly given the way he has developed the likes of Gabriel Otegbayo, Harry Amass, Sean Fusire, Jarvis Thornton, Charlie McNeill and George Brown among others this season.

However, Wednesday will be expected to challenge for an immediate return to the Championship next season, and with Pedersen currently possessing a win record of just 2.94%, it would be too much of a gamble to retain him beyond the summer.