Sheffield Wednesday appoint Dave Challinor as new manager

Dave’s the Man: Dave Challinor appointed Sheffield Wednesday manager — Dave Challinor is Sheffield Wednesday’s new manager. Fan Banter artwork; photo: Sheffield Wednesday FC.

Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed the appointment of Dave Challinor as first‑team manager. The club said an “agreement was reached last night” and that the 51‑year‑old “will be in attendance at today’s fixture against Blackpool at Hillsborough” with a formal introduction to supporters planned for Monday.

Club statement

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club can confirm that an agreement was reached last night for Dave Challinor to become the club’s new First‑Team Manager. The 51‑year‑old will be in attendance at today’s fixture against Blackpool at Hillsborough. The club looks forward to formally introducing Dave to supporters on Monday, when further details of the appointment will be announced.

Official club announcement — Sheffield Wednesday FC (tweet).

Dave Challinor’s managerial record

Challinor brings a record of seven promotions and experience of building winning teams across the divisions. He began managing at Colwyn Bay in 2010 before spells with AFC Fylde, Hartlepool United and Stockport County.

At Stockport, he won the National League and League Two titles within three seasons, then twice took County into the League One play-offs. His previous jobs produced 445 wins in 839 matches — a 53.0% win rate.

Challinor’s record at his previous clubs
Club	Years	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win %
Colwyn Bay	2010–2011	66	34	12	20	51.5%
AFC Fylde	2011–2019	415	226	93	96	54.5%
Hartlepool United	2019–2021	90	41	24	25	45.6%
Stockport County	2021–2026	268	144	61	63	53.7%
Total	Previous clubs	839	445	190	204	53.0%

Source: published managerial statistics, checked 1 November 2026. Previous clubs only; Sheffield Wednesday’s record is excluded.

Immediate situation at Hillsborough

Challinor replaces Henrik Pedersen, who was sacked last Sunday after one win in six League One matches, the BBC reports. Sheffield Wednesday arrive at the Blackpool game on a three‑match winless run (D1 L2) and sit ninth in the division in the snapshot quoted by the BBC.

Wednesday’s fixture today is against Blackpool at Hillsborough on Sunday, 1 November 2026 (14:00 GMT). The club has said Challinor will attend the match but interim head coach Matt Hamshaw will be in charge for the fixture.

Fans react

Responses on X/Twitter from fans of Wednesday and clubs Challinor has managed included the following positive responses. These individual replies do not represent the whole fanbase:

“Welcome dave,let’s crack on” — @SwfcSid
“Hartlepool fan here. You’ve got yourself a cracking manager but also a cracking man. Wish Dave all the very best.” — @durhamchris1983
“Good luck, DC! Best Pools manager in my lifetime, under exceptional circumstances too.” — @jordrich97
“From a stockport fan, dave challinor is the absolute greatest. Yous are very lucky” — @oscmcd1
Grant Roberts praised Challinor’s interviews and hoped he would get wins — @GrantR_1867.

Next steps

The club says a formal introduction for supporters will be held on Monday, when further details of the appointment will be announced. The immediate priority for Challinor will be to influence results on the pitch: he will watch from the stands on Sunday while Hamshaw leads the team for the Blackpool match.