Sheffield Wednesday's search for Henrik Pedersen's successor has a clear frontrunner, and it is the name that has followed the club around since the summer. Dave Challinor is expected to be the man, though nothing has been signed yet and the timeline is a little longer than some would like.
Talks are understood to have moved forward this week. The Wednesday Word reports that the club had been discussing a possible replacement for weeks before Pedersen's exit, so this is not a search starting from scratch.
One thing slowing it down is geography. Chief executive David Bruce and sporting director Simon Wilson are in the United States, which is why Pedersen learned his fate over a video call. They are due back before the weekend. An appointment before Blackpool visit Hillsborough on Sunday looks a stretch, so Matt Hamshaw is likely to take charge again.
The realistic target is the FA Cup trip to Oldham. After that, an international break and a likely postponement of the Plymouth home game would give a new manager something rare: a week and a half on the training ground before his first league game. Pedersen's coaching staff remain at Middlewood Road for now. How long they stay will depend on who walks through the door and who he brings with him.
Hamshaw's holding job
Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Cambridge was an improvement on the trips to Notts County and Doncaster that cost Pedersen his job. It still showed why the next manager has plenty to fix.
Hamshaw made five changes, and several of them worked. Ernie Weaver, making his first league start in a year, threw himself at everything and showed why he should have played more often this season. Reece James was the best player on the pitch, delivering ball after ball that nobody was there to meet. Ashley Maynard-Brewer was sound again and does not deserve to drop out when Joe Lumley is fit.
Mason Burstow's goal, set up by Callum Slattery, was the best thing about the night. The timing of his run and the finish showed what he can bring when he gets in behind. He should have had a second, but Jake Eastwood produced a remarkable close-range save before Sullay Kaikai equalised on the break. A draw was fair. It is now one win in seven, and Wednesday sit outside the play-off places.
The 30,701 inside Hillsborough deserve a team that matches them. The shortage of pace and a focal point up front has been obvious all season, and no change of manager fixes that before January.
Who is Dave Challinor?
Challinor is 51, a former centre-back best remembered for his enormous long throws at Tranmere, and later Stockport and Bury. His management career has been a steady climb.
- Colwyn Bay: his first job, as player-manager.
- AFC Fylde: nearly eight years, three promotions and an FA Trophy.
- Hartlepool: took them back into the Football League.
- Stockport: from November 2021, he won the National League and then League Two, and turned the club into a League One promotion contender. Last season ended in a play-off final defeat to Bolton.
In all, that makes seven promotions. He left Edgeley Park by mutual consent in June, despite having signed a contract to 2028, as the club moved towards a younger, develop-and-sell model.
The Wilson connection is obvious. Wilson was Stockport's chief executive during that rise, and both left after the Bolton final. Wednesday hired a sporting director who knows exactly what Challinor offers, and they are not hiding it.
On the pitch, Stockport fans talk about intensity above all: pressing, winning second balls, overloads and tempo. He is flexible on shape. Stockport used a back three, a back four and two up front at various points, depending on who was fit. His long-time assistant Clint Hill, a former Tranmere teammate, usually comes as part of the package. Supporters there describe Hill as the warmer presence to Challinor's demanding edge. Louis Barry played the best football of his career under Challinor, which will interest anyone wondering how to get more out of this front line.
The obvious question is whether he can handle a club of this size, and nobody can answer it until he tries. He has never managed above League One or in front of crowds like these. Wednesday cannot simply hire an established Championship manager either. Budget restrictions from the takeover, along with the cost of prising someone out of a job, narrow the field. Notts County's Martin Paterson has been mentioned, but he is in work and the bookmakers have Challinor some way clear.
Pedersen's parting shot
Pedersen has told Danish media he was shocked by how quickly it ended. Eight days before he was sacked, his side had stretched an unbeaten run to nine and sat two points off the top with a game in hand. His surprise is understandable. But the Doncaster defeat, the chants and a style the club had already flagged as a problem made the outcome feel settled long before Sunday afternoon.
Sunday's game against Blackpool, who have struggled for consistency themselves, will feel like a holding game. The new era starts when the new man arrives, and it should not be long now.
Sources: The Wednesday Word, Owls Extra, The Yorkshire Post, The Star, Stockport County FC