Wednesday hoping Jos will be a Luhukay appointment
Sheffield Wednesday have ended their search for a new manager by appointing Dutchman Jos Luhukay.
The Owls parted company with Carlos Carvalhal on Christmas Eve and since then a host of names from around the football world have been linked with the vacant position. Bookies were close to closing the market last week when Steve McLaren was made short odds to take the job while the likes of Paul Lambert, Sven Goran Eriksson and even Andre Villas Boas were also touted.
Luhukay’s name came to the fore a couple of days ago and although the appointment may be regarded as a little out of leftfield for the Championship the 54-year-old has an impressive list of clubs on his C.V.
His first managerial role at a big club came at Borussia Monchengladbach in 2006/07 when he took over from club legend Jupp Heynckes. The club were struggling at the time that Luhukay took the reins and he couldn’t prevent relegation from the Bundesliga but he managed to lead the club to promotion at the first attempt the following season by winning the second division title.
His next job came in 2009 at unfancied German 2nd division side Augsburg. The Dutchman led them to 3rd in his first full season and runners up in the following campaign, achieving promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.
Another underachieving big club in Germany came calling in 2012 and in his first season at Hertha Berlin Luhukay steered the club to the 2nd division title with the most points in the history of the league and then stabilising them in mid-table in the top flight the following season. Last season saw him have a brief spell in charge at VfB Stuttgart.
Luhukay will officially take over next Monday, meaning that Lee Bullen will remain in charge for the F.A. Cup tie at Carlisle on Saturday. Jos’s first game in charge will be the small matter of the Sheffield derby at Bramall Lane. The length of his contract has yet to be confirmed and an official press conference will be held on Monday
The Dutchman, speaking via the official swfc website, spoke of the immediate need to stabilise the team before looking to improve and take it up through discipline, effort, commitment and creativity. Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri stated that his search for a new boss had been extensive and that Jos’s experience and the way he spoke in being interviewed for the position has left him in no doubt that he is the right man to take the club forward.