Dave Jones became Sheffield Wednesday manager in March 2012.
Dave Jones was appointed Sheffield Wednesday manager in March 2012, with the club sitting third in League One and having just beaten steel city rivals Sheffield United in a key clash in the race for automatic promotion.
The sacking of Gary Megson following the 1-0 win over the Blades shocked Wednesday fans, but the team responded well, as a superb run of form saw the club pip their rivals to promotion back to the Championship.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Jones went on to bolster his squad with numerous new signings that summer, and here we look at the first five to move to Hillsborough and where they are now.
Chris Kirkland: Signed from Wigan Athletic
Chris Kirkland was Jones’ first signing, and the experienced goalkeeper soon became Wednesday’s number one as he went on to play all 46 Championship games for the Yorkshire club that season.
The 36-year-old spent three seasons at the Owls before joining Preston North End and, after barely featuring at Deepdale, he decided to call it a day as he retired from professional football in 2016.
Kieran Lee: Signed from Oldham Athletic
Arguably Jones’ best buy as Wednesday manager, Kieran Lee still plies his trade for the Owls and was a regular during the club’s play-off campaigns under former manager Carlos Carvalhal.
Lee, 29, has featured over 160 times for the Owls in the Championship, although this season he has struggled with injuries while the team has failed to replicate their form over the past two campaigns.
Joe Mattock: Signed from West Bromwich Albion
Full-back Joe Mattock was a highly-rated player at the time of his arrival, and many Wednesday supporters expected the player to go on and become a regular for the club for a number of years.
Unfortunately, the 27-year-old struggled to perform during his three seasons at Hillsborough, and he was not offered a new deal prompting him to move on to current club Rotherham United.
Chris Maguire: Signed from Derby County
Chris Maguire joined Wednesday following his transfer-listing at Derby, and many Rams fans were a bit miffed he was allowed to leave the club after showing glimpses of talent during his spell at Pride Park.
The 29-year-old went to score 18 goals in 79 games for Wednesday over three seasons, but he soon found himself out of favour and dropped down the leagues. He is now at League One side Bury.
Nejc Pecnik: Signed from Nacional
Pecnik was without doubt a gamble buy from Jones, and one which turned out to be a disappointment as the Slovenia international made just 10 appearances for Wednesday before moving on.
The 32-capped midfielder has since had an interesting career, joining Red Star Belgrade before moving to Japan where he has since played for three different clubs. He currently plays for Tochigi SC in Japan’s second division.
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