A new era is underway at Sheffield Wednesday following the appointment of Dave Challinor as the club's new manager.
Wednesday parted company with Henrik Pedersen last month after an inconsistent start to life back in League One, and it has not taken long for them to find his replacement.
Sheffield Wednesday make big Dave Challinor call after Henrik Pedersen axe
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Wednesday made a positive start to the season as they won four of their first five league games, but they then won just one of their following six, with Pedersen departing after back-to-back defeats at Notts County and Doncaster Rovers.
Matt Hamshaw took caretaker charge after Pedersen's exit, overseeing consecutive home draws with Cambridge United and Blackpool, but the Owls will be under the guidance of new manager Challinor for the first time on Sunday in their FA Cup tie at Oldham Athletic following his official appointment on Tuesday.
Challinor had been out of work since leaving Stockport County in June after almost five years in charge at Edgeley Park, during which time he led the Hatters from the National League to League One, and his side missed out on promotion to the Championship in what proved to be his final game after losing to Bolton Wanderers in last season's play-off final.
The 51-year-old, who has also had spells with the likes of AFC Fylde and Hartlepool United, holds the incredible record of finishing in the play-off places or higher in each of his 15 full seasons as a manager, and he will be hoping to achieve an eighth career promotion with Wednesday, who currently sit ninth in the League One table.
Challinor's appointment has gone down well with the vast majority of Owls supporters, but the squad face an anxious wait to discover whether they will be part of his plans at Hillsborough, with winger Kieran Morrison one player who may be particularly eager to learn his fate.
Liverpool will be monitoring Kieran Morrison, Sheffield Wednesday situation after Dave Challinor news
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With the club still under transfer restrictions following their exit from administration, Wednesday relied heavily on the loan market this summer as they signed six players on a temporary basis, with Jaden Heskey, Davis Keillor-Dunn, Harry Gray, Ali Al-Hamadi and Mason Burstow joining Morrison in making the switch to Hillsborough.
As EFL rules only permit five loan players to be included in the matchday squad, one of the six aforementioned names has been forced to watch from the stands each week.
Under Pedersen, Gray or Burstow were often the ones to miss out, but as Challinor runs the rule over the Owls squad, it will be intriguing to see how his pecking order of the Owls' loanees shapes up over the coming months.
With Al-Hamadi expected to be sidelined for the next few weeks with injury, Challinor will not face an immediate dilemma on which of his loan players to leave out of the squad, but Morrison may still have a battle on his hands to secure regular game time under the ex-Stockport boss.
Morrison has provided three assists in 13 games for Wednesday so far this season, but while he has shown glimpses of his potential, only five of those appearances have come from the start, and he could encounter a stumbling block in his quest to impress Challinor.
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Kieran Morrison could face Louie Barry, Sheffield Wednesday hurdle under Dave Challinor
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Challinor is known to be a Liverpool supporter, so he will likely have been aware of Morrison, who has made two senior appearances for the Premier League giants, for some time, which could make him more inclined to give the 19-year-old a chance.
However, Wednesday's wide options are set to be boosted by the return of Louie Barry in the next few weeks, and given his previous strong connection with Challinor, it seems certain that he will be one of the first names on the teamsheet once he returns to fitness.
Barry scored a combined total of 29 goals and provided seven assists in 56 appearances across three loan spells at Stockport under Challinor, with his contributions helping the Hatters to the League Two title and consecutive play-off finishes in League One.
After making the permanent move from Aston Villa in the summer, Barry made a strong start to his Owls career as he netted three goals and registered one assist in his first six appearances, but he has been sidelined since early September with an ankle ligament injury.
Despite initially being ruled out for three months, Barry is expected to make an earlier return than expected after the November international break, which will no doubt delight Challinor, as Wednesday have won just two of their last nine league games in his absence.
While Challinor will have to ease Barry back into action to avoid any setbacks in his recovery, he will surely be keen to build his Owls team around the ex-Barcelona man, which could spell bad news for Morrison.
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As Morrison can play on the right or left wing, Barry's return may not be too damaging for the Northern Ireland international, and there would still be room for Challinor to accommodate them both, but it will make his path to the starting line-up significantly more challenging.
Liverpool may already be unhappy with Morrison's lack of minutes at Hillsborough, so Andoni Iraola will be watching closely to see how his situation changes under Challinor as he weighs up a possible recall in January.