"To be fair to him…" - Charlton Athletic's Nathan Jones issues claim on Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri | OneFootball

The Welshman spoke after applauding the travelling Owls fans on Saturday

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has commented on disgraced Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri following his side's 2-1 victory over the Owls at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.

The Addicks secured the three points thanks to goals from Sonny Carey and Reece Burke, moving them up to ninth in the Championship table and just one point outside the play-off places.

However, it was the post-match scenes involving the Welsh manager and the travelling Wednesday supporters that prompted Jones to speak out about the Thai businessman.

After the final whistle went, Jones walked over and applauded the Sheffield Wednesday supporters who had made the trip to South London, despite the ongoing protests against Chansiri’s ownership.

Nathan Jones reflects on Dejphon Chansiri's early years at Sheffield Wednesday

Speaking to The Sheffield Star post-match, Jones was keen to recognise the past investment Chansiri had made at Hillsborough during the early years of his decade-long tenure.

"I know there are bigger problems in the world than football clubs and football owners," Jones said.

"I know things happen at football clubs. To be fair to him, Chansiri put a lot of money into Sheffield Wednesday,."

Jones' comments offer a rare moment of reflection on Chansiri's ownership, which began with promise in 2015 when he purchased the club for a reported £37.5 million from Milan Mandaric.

The Thai did initially invest heavily in the squad, with Wednesday reaching the Championship play-offs in consecutive seasons under Carlos Carvalhal - finishing sixth and fourth respectively in 2016 and 2017.

"They had a right go at getting promoted, I remember playing against a wonderful side with Steven Fletcher and players like that and things turned," Jones continued.

"I have no idea why and I can't comment because it's not my concern. But it's a wonderful football club with a wonderful fan base," he said.

Ultimately, as Jones alluded to, something fundamentally changed.

The failed promotion bids led to financial struggles, with Wednesday subsequently breaching the EFL's Profitability and Sustainability regulations. A points deduction followed, contributing to their relegation to League One in 2021.

Since then, the relationship between Chansiri and the fanbase has deteriorated significantly, with the lack of payment of wages on-time for the last seven months causing significant strain, and with bills not being paid on time too, it looks as though administration is an inevitability.

Sheffield Wednesday can overcome "tough" time according to Nathan Jones

Earlier on in the post-match interview, Jones mentioned, “I really hope they don’t think that was sarcastic at all because these are tough times,” - referring to the Wednesday fans after he applauded them.

"Our club knows what it’s like. We came through it and with god’s will they will too. The framework and the foundation of your football club is the fans and ours aside, there aren’t many better than Sheffield Wednesday’s."

In truth, the backdrop to Saturday's fixture at The Valley was another week of turmoil for Sheffield Wednesday. Players and staff had once again experienced delayed wage payments for the fifth time in seven months, leading to renewed protests from supporters.

Just two weeks prior to the Charlton match, a group of fans invaded the pitch during the 5-0 home defeat to Coventry City in the tenth minute, forcing a brief stoppage in play as they demonstrated against Chansiri's continued ownership.

Now though, the South Yorkshire outfit sit rock bottom in the Championship table with just six points from their opening ten fixtures, having won only once this season.