Sheffield Wednesday have awarded caretaker manager Stuart Gray for his successes whilst in temporary charge of the club by giving the Englishman the job on a permanent basis, on a two-and-a-half year deal. This comes after the former assistant manager was able to win six of his 13 games in charge at Hillsborough, since the sacking of former manager Dave Jones in early December. This news comes as no shock to anyone, with The Owls on much better form and looking a much better side than they did under Jones.
The Yorkshire team suffered a terrible start to the season under former Cardiff boss Jones, failing to win until November under the Liverpudlian. They did manage to pick up a number of draws in this time, but for a variety of reasons struggled to find that first win, until Reading came to Hillsborough in early November and lost 5-2. That was Jones’ last win in charge of The Owls, and he was sacked on 1st December.
Stuart Gray was immediately appointed as the caretaker boss, although was not expected to remain in the post for long. A list of over 50 candidates was reportedly drawn up by the chairman Milan Mandarić, including former Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock, who is hated by the supporters at Hillsborough. The Serbian chairman decided to give Gray a run in charge before appointing any permanent successor to Jones, and the caretaker certainly made his case.
His reign began at Hillsborough, just two days after the sacking of the previous manager. Then-league leaders Leicester City were the visitors, but were sent away on the wrong end of a defeat, after Connor Wickham scored twice against The Foxes. The on-loan Sunderland striker scored again two matches later to seal three points at Watford, to give Gray two wins in three games. Since, victories over Blackpool, Macclesfield, Rochdale and a 6-0 derby triumph against Leeds United have won over the Wednesday support, meaning Gray is the preferred choice of most.
Gray’s management career has been on-and-off for over a decade. He started in 2001, as manager of Southampton. However, he lasted just seven months, after just six wins from 19. Following this, the Englishman had caretaker spells in charge of Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, before joining Northampton Town as permanent manager in 2007. He won 44 of his 135 games in charge at The Cobblers, before leaving in September 2009. The manager then had temporary spells in charge at Burnley and Portsmouth, before his temporary and now permanent job with The Owls.
Both Stuart Gray and Mandarić have been hinting that a deal was close for some time, mainly after wins for The Owls. The 53-year-old manager came out and said earlier this week that he expected to be appointed prior to Wednesday’s FA Cup game away to Rochdale (which they won 2-1), but Mandarić decided to wait on the outcome of that game. Indeed, Wednesday are now looking a much better side than they did at the start of the season, and look much more likely to stay up. As a result, the 75-year-old chairman has entrusted Gray with the job on a permanent basis.
