"I don't see any runaways," he said, casting his eye over a field including relegated trio Birmingham, Reading and Derby.

"I feel it's such an even league that it'll be another close season."
How close? Well, no-one demonstrated the tightness of competition more than Wednesday themselves last season. They were in a relegation place during the first half of their final game - and finished 16th!

But let nobody imagine there isn't a gap - at least in terms of where the Owls want to be. Perhaps a truer perspective is that their eventual 55 point haul was 15 fewer than the requirement for finishing sixth.

Yes, it's only five wins across the course of a campaign but it's still a sizeable bridging exercise. A possible tilt for the play-offs has to be Wednesday's ambition, though realistically it is near enough the height of it without the cash injection promised by a takeover.

Wisely, Laws - still impervious to the backstage drama dominating the club's agenda - is setting his sights purely on improvement. To get it, he must be anxious for a more settled start than last year when that six-game losing sequence condemned the team to a fight against relegation.

"We'll feel we can beat anybody on our day," he said. "Equally, we can lose to anybody if we are not performing."

The margin of error is slight. Wednesday have to be at their best or close to it - and with a full pick of first choices - to squeeze out the maximum from a smallish squad.

But there is always the loan market to fall back on, as Laws did to useful effect last season, and there is no doubt that the side has a platform of great promise from back to front.

Goalscoring will always be crucial and here it's worth repeating that Francis Jeffers can be an ace card if only he can stay fit. Laws is hopeful, revealing that he sacrificed his summer break to slog back to fitness after last season's injury niggles, including ankle damage that required summer surgery in Holland.

Jeffers is only 27 and still with two more seasons on contract as probably the Owls' highest paid player, but it is hard to see his career going anywhere but downhill unless he makes a fuller contribution.

Laws admits: "It's a big season for Franny and he wants to prove to everybody what a good player he still is. Certainly, he's one of the best finishers I've ever worked with.
"This summer he has worked without a break while the other players were on holiday and has shown a great attitude."