Hamshaw takes interim charge again as Sheffield Wednesday host Blackpool with the manager search ongoing
Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Marcus Fenwicke
Sheffield Wednesday still have no permanent manager as they host Blackpool at Hillsborough on Sunday 1 November, with kick-off at 14:00 GMT. This is a preview, written before the game was played, so it does not include a result. Matt Hamshaw is in interim charge for a second match, following Henrik Pedersen’s sacking on Sunday 25 October, the BBC reported, and a 1–1 draw with Cambridge United in Hamshaw’s first game on Tuesday 27 October.
Going into Sunday’s game, the BBC table, last updated at 01:25 GMT, has Wednesday ninth on 19 points from 12 games, three behind the play-off places, where Reading and Bradford City have 22. League One’s top two go up automatically, third to sixth go into the play-offs and the bottom four go down. Blackpool are 20th on 11 points from 11 games, and a win for them would take them to 14. Wednesday have won five, drawn four and lost three, and the BBC form guide reads D D W L L D.
The Star said that Wednesday have won one of their last seven league games and are on a three-game winless run. They have also won only two of their first six home league games, and have not met Blackpool in the third tier for more than 20 years.
The Star also reported that a number of candidates are being considered. It said Dave Challinor, a former Stockport County manager, is understood to be a contender, and that Jimmy Thelin, the former Aberdeen manager, was linked with the job on Friday evening. Neither has been confirmed and the club has announced no appointment. The Star said Wednesday hope to appoint before the FA Cup first-round tie at Oldham Athletic on Sunday 8 November.
The Star’s predicted line-up on 31 October said Ernie Weaver starts. It listed Lumley, with a rib injury, Jamal Lowe and Louie Barry as out, and Cooper, Santos and Bernard faced fitness tests. We have not seen the confirmed line-up.
Lowe was the target of racist abuse on his wife’s Instagram account after his red card at Notts County, and the BBC reported on 22 October that the UK Policing Football Unit is investigating. We have not repeated the abuse. The Star lists him as out for this game, and we have not seen a confirmed reason.
Mason Burstow, on loan from Hull City, scored his second Wednesday goal against Cambridge, ending an eight-game drought, according to The Star. The paper also reported that Blackpool manager Ian Evatt expressed sympathy for Pedersen ahead of the game.
After Blackpool, Wednesday are at Oldham on Sunday 8 November at 17:15, live on TNT Sports 1. They host Accrington Stanley in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy on Wednesday 11 November at 19:00, and Plymouth Argyle in the league on Saturday 14 November at 15:00, although The Star says that game is not guaranteed because of international call-ups. They visit Barnsley on Friday 20 November at 20:00 and Stevenage on Tuesday 24 November at 19:45.
Hillsborough has been home to Sheffield Wednesday since 1899. For a visiting supporter it is a proper old English ground: four distinct stands, tight streets around Leppings Lane, and a noisy Kop facing you from the far end. The official address is Hillsborough, Sheffield, S6 1SW. Capacity is in the mid-thirty thousands when every stand is in use, though figures change with safety work, so treat match-day announcements as gospel.
You will be in the West Stand, still widely called the Leppings Lane End. It sits behind the goal on the western side of the pitch. The usual allocation is the upper tier, often around three to four thousand seats, with the lower tier added when the away following is large. There are supporting pillars in this stand. If your ticket is marked restricted view, believe it. Wheelchair spaces for visiting fans are normally in the West Lower, with step-free access via the marked accessible entrance on Leppings Lane.
Opposite you is the Spion Kop on the Penistone Road side, the big home end of more than eleven thousand seats and the loudest part of the ground. Along the touchline to your right (as you look at the pitch from the West Stand) is the North Stand, a long single-tier cantilever with no roof posts. To your left is the South Stand, the main stand: tunnel, dugouts, directors’ box, hospitality and, above it, the Grandstand family area. Goals sit in front of the West Stand and the Kop, not the side stands.
Tickets for away fans come through your own club, not the Hillsborough ticket office on the day. Digital tickets are the norm; scan at the West Stand turnstiles on Leppings Lane (upper-tier gates are at the back of the stand). Children aged 15 and under must be with an adult. Bag checks are routine, so travel light. Alcohol is sold inside selected concourses, but service can stop before kick-off or at half-time depending on the fixture.
Sheffield station is just under four miles away. The Supertram Yellow route to Leppings Lane drops you a short walk from the away end; the Blue route towards Malin Bridge is useful if you prefer to walk from Hillsborough Park. Buses from the city centre run along Penistone Road. If you drive, pre-book a space. Streets immediately around the ground fill early and are often restricted after full time. Away coaches usually set down on or near Leppings Lane and park as directed by stewards, commonly around Claywheels Lane.
Pubs next to the stadium are home territory and will often refuse away colours. Drink in the city centre first — spots such as The Howard near the station or the Red Deer on Pitt Street are the usual advice — or use the Railway Hotel on Penistone Road North if you want somewhere closer that has historically taken visitors. After the final whistle the Wednesday Tap on site is a home pub; visiting fans are better heading straight back to the tram or a booked taxi rather than lingering on Leppings Lane.
The view from the West Upper is decent if you are not behind a stanchion: you look straight down the pitch toward the Kop, with the South Stand tunnel on one flank. The concourse is functional rather than plush. Food is standard ground fare. Stewards will point you to toilets and accessible facilities. Keep your ticket handy if you leave the seating bowl.
Hillsborough is also a place of remembrance. The 1989 disaster happened at this end of the ground. Behave with ordinary decency: no chants that treat that history as banter, and give memorials the space they deserve. Do that, follow the segregation, and you will get a noisy, traditional Championship afternoon in a stadium that still feels like a football ground rather than a bowl.