Sheff Wed fans convince Henrik Pedersen of club’s ‘big future’

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen believes the club has a “big future” despite its problems because of the “amazing” fans.

Pedersen was moved by the support of the 3,000 Wednesday fans who sang from the first whistle to the last even though their team suffered a 13th straight league defeat, going down 2-1 at Derby.

The game started on an all too familiar note for Wednesday, who were trailing in the 11th minute when Rhian Brewster played in Ben Brereton Diaz who finished clinically.

But the visitors showed character to hit back in the 18th minute with former Derby loanee Jerry Yates heading a Jamal Lowe cross into the top right corner.

Derby were far from convincing but Matt Clarke’s header on the stroke of half-time was enough to seal victory. Wednesday became only the fifth team in Football League history to go 30 or more consecutive games without a win.

But for Pedersen, it was the club’s fans who were the winners.

“It was amazing,” he said. “Today from the first moment they were singing and to the end of the game. That’s why we have a big, big future for this football club.

“How they support the boys and how they create an environment for the boys in this insecure situation to still feel safe and feel motivated to do all that they can. I have never seen this before in my life, what they did for us today was amazing.

“Before we have a new owner, what we have right now is our fans and this is why our club is still a big club, otherwise we would be a small club. We don’t have much but with our fans we have everything and we have big potential.

“This shows what Sheffield Wednesday is, that the human comes first and with the heart we have to play and with the heart we have to show what we are and they have been unbelievable when it was most difficult and to stay with us and support us.

“On the other side, I am so proud of my players, they did everything that they can again today and I thought we competed really really well in a very difficult away game.”

Derby head coach John Eustace was impressed with the way his players responded after conceding the equaliser.

He said: “I thought it was an excellent win. It was always going to be a difficult game, Sheffield Wednesday are playing with a lot of freedom and have got nothing to lose.

“Every game that you play in the Championship, if you are not 100 per cent focused and have the right mentality. It can hurt you and I was just delighted with the way we bounced back from them equalising.

“It could have rocked us a little bit so to score just before half-time was really pleasing.

“In the second half the game opened up a little bit more and we could easily have scored three or four goals if we had made the right decisions and if we were more clinical.

“We have got some fantastic forward players and it could have been three or four if we had been a little bit more clinical.

“Now it’s just important that we enjoy the last 10 games and see where it takes us.”