New arrivals, Hillsborough support & odds: What to look out for in Sheffield Wednesday pre-season

It is official. The League One campaign is less than a month away, with Sheffield Wednesday getting their season underway against Portsmouth on July 30.

Darren Moore and his troops have had almost two months two erase the play-off heartbreak from their minds. A semi-final defeat to eventual winners Sunderland means the Owls have to endure another gruelling slog in the third tier.

Promotion has to be the aim for the Owls after coming so close last year. Training is already underway, with Wednesday reporting for duty a fortnight ago.

Discussing pre-season plans in May, Moore said: “The players will report back here by June 20, which will give us a good six weeks to train. They’ll have six weeks to get their bodies into the condition we need them to be in for the start of the new campaign.

“By the time they get back in and report back the surfaces will be ready, and we’ll be good to go. The main thing for preseason is that the players return back, have a good six weeks, come through unscathed, get fit physically and mentally, and then we get ready for the new campaign.”

YorkshireLive analyses what to look out for as players, coaches, reporters and supporters gear up for the 2022-23 campaign.

Wednesday have a scant pre-season fixture list compared to other clubs. As it stands, just two friendlies have been arranged against lower-league opposition.

An away trip to Alfreton Town - who play in the National League North - tomorrow kicks off their preparations. Another trip, this time against League Two opposition Harrogate Town, concludes Wednesday’s schedule on July 8.

It is unclear whether more friendlies will be arranged before the League One opener against Portsmouth. Playing no fixtures for 22 days hardly seems