Sheffield Wednesday's Henrik Pedersen explains his Owls changes
Young forward Charlie McNeill is looking to kickstart his Sheffield Wednesday career - and sees no better time to do it then the Steel City derby.
The former Manchester United academy man signed for the Owls last summer on free agent terms after a prolific and headline-grabbing career in the youth ranks of both Manchester clubs. He was kept on the edge of things in his maiden campaign at S6, with potential loan switches not materialising due to a preference to maintain his development in-house.
The exodus of senior figures from the changing room this summer presented McNeill with a fresh opportunity and a run of three Championship starts on the spin early on in the season, though minutes have been harder to come by in recent weeks, with boss Henrik Pedersen seeking a more consistent selection policy in his frontline.
McNeill played just over an hour of defeat at Southampton over the weekend and wore the captain’s armband in 90 minutes of action in an under-21 defeat at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday evening.
“It was good to get some minutes in the legs,” he told The Star after the game. “I've not played too much recently, I played Saturday and got 60 minutes, but it was a good run-out for me. It was good to lead them out and the lads all train with us all the time, they're a good set of lads.
Charlie McNeill (right) scored twice on a promising Wednesday debut last August - and is looking to kick on once more (Pic: Nigel French/PA Wire)placeholder image
Charlie McNeill (right) scored twice on a promising Wednesday debut last August - and is looking to kick on once more (Pic: Nigel French/PA Wire)
“It's been a bit tough recently, but the lads had a couple of good results so the team stayed the same. I know I've just got to keep working hard in training and my time will come again. Hopefully once I get that goal, it'll get my confidence up and hopefully I'll be away then.”
Looking for a kickstart
Only Sheffield United have scored fewer goals in the Championship this season than Wednesday’s depleted squad. McNeill is in a scrap for minutes with the likes of Jamal Lowe, Ike Ugbo and Bailey Cadamarteri, with Pedersen having expressed the need for attributes both on and off the ball. The 22-year-old has been one of several Owls players to have been given individual attention after training at Middlewood Road and has been picking up pointers from those who have been ahead of him in the pecking order.
McNeill said: “When I'm not in the team, I'm watching what other people do; how they work, how they go about it and how the gaffer wants them to press. It's about the positions they take up on the ball and stuff. I know it's about working hard in training and that's probably the main thing at the moment.”
McNeill has been one of several players to have been handed the benefit of extra training at Middlewood Road. (Pic: Steve Ellis)placeholder image
McNeill has been one of several players to have been handed the benefit of extra training at Middlewood Road. (Pic: Steve Ellis) | Steve Ellis
The next outing for Wednesday is perhaps the biggest on their calendar, a home derby date with the Blades. A renewed spirit at Hillsborough looks set to deliver a raucous atmosphere against a Blades side struggling for confidence and any sort of momentum despite the return of talismanic manager Chris Wilder.
Derby days have made cult heroes of goalscorers on both sides of the football divide. Whether he starts or not, a first senior goal for McNeill since a double on Owls debut in August last year would provide the best boost imaginable to kickstart his Wednesday career.
“That would be good,” he smiled. “We've got a few days off now, we're back in on Monday and then it's a really big, big game. Scoring in that game would be amazing, a really amazing feeling. It would be my first goal of the season too, my first goal in quite a while. So that would be something special for me to go on with.”
Continue Reading