Steve Cotterill sends message to Sheffield Wednesday fans amid Owls prediction | OneFootball

Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill has urged Sheffield Wednesday supporters to be patient with Darren Moore despite a mixed start to their campaign, speaking after the two side’s 1-1 draw at Hillsborough to the Sheffield Star.

Although Saido Berahino’s early head set the Owls on course for a much-needed victory, Ryan Bowman’s strike in the 37th minute forced both teams to settle for a point, only going on to worsen what has been an underwhelming spell of form for Darren Moore’s men.

They have won just one point from a possible nine in their last three league games, slipping down to 12th place in the process and are losing track of fellow promotion rivals including Wigan Athletic and Sunderland at the top of the table.

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This is a far cry from their early-season form, when they won three of their opening four league games, taking an impressive 13 points from 15 after a turbulent start to the summer at Hillsborough with unpaid wages.

The Owls were only provided clearance to sign players at the start of July when their EFL-imposed transfer embargo was finally lifted, although the third-tier side surpassed all expectations with their impressive recruitment as they managed to bring in 14 players, raising expectations as a result.

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But recent performances have been underwhelming and in a message to Wednesday supporters after Saturday afternoon’s game, Shrewsbury manager Steve Cotterill said: “In defence of Sheffield Wednesday and Darren (Moore), they are a team in transition.

“They are a little bit like ourselves. They ended up coming down from the Championship so it takes time.

“Whilst the Sheffield Wednesday fans might not like to hear this, they are going to have to be patient with Darren and stick with the team.

“I’m sure they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

“I wouldn’t be worried by what has gone on, I know they have had a couple of blips in the last couple of weeks but there is an adjustment period for players coming down as well.

“You have got a lot of players out there for Sheffield Wednesday who are Championship players.

“You can drop any one of their players today in any Championship team and they would be absolutely fine. The fact that the club has ended up going down might not totally be their fault.”

The Verdict:

Steve Cotterill is spot on with his verdict on Sheffield Wednesday’s current situation.

They may have hit a sticky patch, but that doesn’t mean they will still be in this poor form throughout the 2021/22 campaign and with the players they have at their disposal, especially club captain Barry Bannan, you would back them to turn their fortunes around in the next few games.

Looking ahead, they have three extremely difficult league games coming up. Ipswich Town will provide a big test after a strong summer, Wigan Athletic are in the form of their life and Oxford United will always be a threat after being in and around the play-offs in the last couple of years under Karl Robinson.

But this should be seen as an opportunity for the Owls. They will inevitably have to raise their game against the trio, something that often comes naturally to teams and it would be a major confidence boost if they were able to get at least six points from the three.

Whether Steve Cotterill’s prediction regarding Wednesday being ‘there or thereabouts’ at the end of the campaign remains to be seen with the number of teams gunning for promotion to the Championship, but no one’s had a bad word to say about Darren Moore and he’s likely to guide the club to at least a semi-respectable finish this term.

He deserves to be backed after a decent summer – and with their fans behind them – who knows what could happen during this campaign?