Legendary Sheffield Wednesday nemesis set for Hillsborough return after contract news

Neil Warnock has been a thorn in the Owls’ side as far back as the 1990/91 season in which his Notts County side caused problems for Ron Atkinson’s Owls.

A passionate Sheffield United supporter, he later became Blades boss and has revelled in the banter between the blue and red sides of the city, revealing that Milan Mandaric approached him about becoming Owls boss 2013.

And now he’s agreed to take on another season in management that will take him into his 75th year, signing a contract extension at Huddersfield Town having masterminded an unlikely survival in the Championship last time out.

It had been suspected that Warnock’s last outing at Hillsborough could well have come in front of an empty stadium when his Middlesbrough side fell to a 2-1 defeat played in front of no crowd during the Covid-19 lockdown.

His record in matches against the Owls is impressive, Wednesday winning only three matches against Warnock sides in the last 20 years. In an eight-year stint as United boss, he won four of nine derby days, losing two.

The former Cardiff and QPR boss - whose record few would argue against standing as the most impressive in the history of the EFL - may even be delighted that Wednesday will be a Championship club next season, should comments at the time of their relegation be anything to go by.

"Even though I'm a Unitedite, when I was a kid, Wednesday were a massive club,” he said. “They were Man United and we were peasants

"When I took over my objective was finishing above Wednesday and getting in a higher league. To see them in a situation like this...

"As you've seen with the Premier League big six, owners make such a big difference. It hasn't been easy for Sheffield Wednesday fans, it's not been easy for them.

"It's hard for fans, all you can do is support your team and they've always done that. They've always had full houses.

"You don't want to see them in this situation. United are getting relegated, I'd rather be looking forward to two Sheffield derbies. All my relatives who work in Sheffield, when there's a derby it's all you look forward to. The points deduction did them."