Sheffield Wednesday will provide former Besiktas manager Carlos Carvalhal with the task of succeeding Stuart Gray in the Hillsborough dugout, according to Radio Sheffield’s Rob Staton.
After Gray’s dismissal on Thursday, the 49 year old emerged as a shock favourite for the Owls’ job last Friday afternoon, and it appears that the Owls will appoint him as their new head coach.
Carvalhal hails from Portugal, and given that he has never been in charge of a British team, it’s little surprise that he’s an unknown quantity on these shores. The former central defender has a managerial career that spans back to 1998, and in that time he has been in charge of 14 different clubs. Spells with Sporting Lisbon, Braga and Besiktas feature on Carvalhal’s CV. However, the new Wednesday chief has never lasted much longer than a year in these roles, and he’s been out of work for a few years. This makes his appointment at S6 seem rather precarious. Despite this, the peripatetic boss should have the full support of an expectant fan base behind him.
The Owls’ new Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri has wasted little time in making changes since purchasing the club earlier this year, and he highlighted the desire to go in a new direction as the reason behind Gray’s departure.
It’s fuerther understood that Swindon manager Mark Cooper could become part of the coaching staff at Hillsborough. The 46 year old guided the Robins to a fourth placed finish last term. Only a play-off final defeat at the hands of Preston prevented Cooper from leading the Wiltshire club into the Championship.
Owls supporters were deprived of any invigorating football last campaign, and Cooper certainly knows how to produce and coach an attacking football team.
It’s understood that the delay in Carvalhal’s appointment has been due to Chansiri’s desire to seek the right coach to assist Carvalhal.
Carvalhal (and possibly Cooper) will link up with fellow management ‘committee’ members Glenn Roeder, Paul Senior and Jonathan Hill, who are responsible for recruiting new players and advising the chairman. The management force have been dealt the ambitious challenge of guiding Sheffield Wednesday into the Premier League by 2017.
