A week ago, Wednesday had just put five past AFC Wimbledon and were two points off the top with a game in hand. Talk of a crisis was being laughed off. Seven days and two 2-0 away defeats later, nobody is laughing.
A back three that barely lasted
Pedersen went into the South Yorkshire derby with a reshuffled side, partly by necessity after Tuesday's mess at Meadow Lane. Callum Slattery was suspended, Jamal Lowe was serving the first of three games for his red card, and Di'Shon Bernard was injured. So Billy Mitchell, Liam Palmer and Ali Al-Hamadi came in.
The bigger call was the switch to a back three, with Kieran Morrison asked to play left wing-back and Max Lowe tucked in as a left-sided centre-half. It was a brave idea on paper. On the pitch it lasted about a quarter of an hour before it was abandoned, and by then the game was gone.
Bailey strikes twice
A tame early shot on target was as good as the first half got, which at least was one more than Wednesday managed in the whole of Tuesday's game. Six minutes in, they failed to clear a corner and Owen Bailey fired past Ashley Maynard-Brewer. The away end was already booing a Doncaster attack by the time Bailey struck again from 12 yards, ten minutes later, after more loose defending. Bailey, of all people, was a player Wednesday looked at over the summer.
No scrap, no basics
What stung most wasn't the goals. It was how Wednesday played before and after them. Passes went astray, touches were heavy and decisions were poor. Worst of all, there was no scrap. You can argue about whether a back five suited a squad recruited for something else entirely, and it clearly didn't. But when a side loses second balls and individual battles across the pitch, formation is the smaller problem. Pedersen blamed the basics at Notts County. Four days later the basics were missing again.
He reverted quickly, moving Morrison to the right and putting Davis Keillor-Dunn on the left. It made no difference before the break. Doncaster wanted it more, and it showed.
Simkin stands firm
To their credit, Wednesday came out early for the second half, with Mason Burstow on for Jaden Heskey, and there was a response of sorts. Barry Bannan forced a fine save from Tommy Simkin, then was denied by him again. Al-Hamadi also found the Stoke loanee in his way, and Simkin made eight saves in all. But as soon as Doncaster made their changes, the momentum drained away and the home side took control again. A better spell against a side two goals up and happy to sit deep tells you little. Wednesday only looked lively because the first half had been so lifeless.
Will Grainger replaced Al-Hamadi with ten minutes left in the hope of rekindling the energy seen at Huddersfield earlier this month. It never came. Instead the game drifted. Maynard-Brewer had to stop Bailey completing his hat-trick and, deep in seven minutes of stoppage time, kept out Alfie May as well. The keeper was one of the few to come out with credit, but nobody will take comfort from that.
In between, things threatened to boil over when a coming-together drew in half the players on the pitch. Mitchell was booked for his part, and Sean Fusire came on for Palmer. It was the most passion Wednesday showed all afternoon, and it came far too late.
The chants grow louder
Then there were the chants. Calls for Pedersen to go were heard for the first time at Meadow Lane on Tuesday. On Saturday they came before half-time, rang out again in the closing stages, and by the final whistle players walking over to the away end were met with angry gestures from the 2,900 who had made the trip. Before the game, Pedersen said he respected every reaction and expected the fans to be cheering again soon. He got a reaction, but not the one he wanted.
As Rob Staton put it after Notts County, the odd bad result is no surprise after rebuilding an entire squad in one summer, but "Wednesday simply can't keep playing as poorly as they are." Two games, four goals conceded and barely a moment of fight in either first half. That is no longer the odd bad result.
Arise have backed Pedersen since the takeover, and patience is reasonable for a new regime. But backing has to be repaid with performances. The timing adds a bitter edge, too. It is exactly a year since Administration Day, when the end of the Chansiri era finally began. Twelve months on, Wednesday supporters should be talking about a new beginning. Instead the question is how long Pedersen has left. He needs an answer quickly, and it has to start with a team that fights.
Match details
Doncaster Rovers: Bailey 6', 16'
Booked: Al-Hamadi 14', Mitchell 86' (Wednesday); Gotts 73' (Doncaster)
Wednesday subs: Burstow for Heskey 45', Grainger for Al-Hamadi 80', Fusire for Palmer 88'
Away support: 2,900