Newcastle United v Southampton decision further muddles Sheffield Wednesday’s manic week

And while he harbours a strong ‘let’s get on with it’ attitude, he didn’t hide his anguish at the fact that last month his Sheffield Wednesday side had been drawn away at Premier League Southampton in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

The draw set up a 440-odd mile round-trip to the south coast now confirmed to be taking place on Wednesday November 9.

What’s the issue?

That anguish shown because in modern football, recovery time is key – a few hours spent on a coach is bad for a footballer’s body – and for a manager who is most at home fine-tuning things on the training ground, it takes days out of the schedule to prepare for the battles ahead.

The thing is, the challenging logistical nature of that week is not yet known given the draw for the FA Cup is yet to be done. Those matches will be played over the weekend of November 5, with all Wednesday eyes praying for a local draw – and certainly not a draw that would drag them further across the country a few days before the Saints trip.

What’s this with Newcastle, then?

Southampton’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United has been moved from Saturday November 5 to Sunday November 6 for live television coverage.

It means that where Wednesday’s Carabao clash at St Mary’s was likely to be played the following Tuesday, it has been pushed to the Wednesday, leaving less recovery time ahead of their League One clash at Accrington Stanley – another away fixture – three days later on Saturday November 12.

The switch could take away the opportunity for a proper training day between the Southampton trip and the trip to Accrington given the travel commitments.

It could be that Wednesday look into the possibility of flights to and from the south coast to cut down on travel time.

So how could that manic week look?

Saturday – FA Cup v ?

Sunday – Rest/recovery day

Monday – Training

Tuesday – Travel day

Wednesday – Carabao Cup @ Southampton

Thursday – Travel day

Friday – Travel day

Saturday – League One @ Accrington Stanley

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