After a turbulent summer, it has been a fantastic start to the season for Sheffield Wednesday.
Steve Bruce’s decision to join Newcastle United less than a month before the start of the season threatened to destabilise the club ahead of the 2019/20 campaign but so far there have been so signs of that.
Under caretaker manager Lee Bullen, the Owls are sixth in the Championship after two wins in three games and are just one point behind Leeds United in first.
Bullen suffered his first wobble in this spell as caretaker boss on the weekend, as his side suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of 10-man Millwall.
The loss may have dealt a blow to his chances of getting the job permanently and now means the 58-year-old faces arguably the most important period of his tenure as he looks to raise the spirits of his side ahead of three games in the next 11 days.
According to the Sheffield Star, the Yorkshire club are now considering adding to the coaching staff to help the Scottish coach and reduce his workload.
When Bruce left he took two the Wednesday coaches, Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence, within him, which has meant Bullen's current coaching staff is made up of Under-23s manager Neil Thompson, goalkeeping coach Nicky Weaver and head of medicine and sports science Tony Strudwick.
The club hierarchy are now reportedly considering adding an experienced coach to the Wednesday staff, which sounds like it could be an ideal move for Bullen.
With the success he has had so far, it may have been easy to forget that the Scotsman has been an assistant manager for the majority of his coaching career and his only solo managerial experience has been in his previous two short stints as caretaker manager.
He is facing a higher workload, increased pressure, and, in some ways, uncharted territory in his current role. Working with a reduced coaching staff will not have helped that and the arrival of a seasoned coach to advise and support him appears a perfect development for Bullen.
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A new coach should reduce both the workload and pressure on the Scotsman and should mean he has an experienced head to turn to when facing new and difficult situations.
Additionally, bringing in a new coach to support Bullen is a significant move and suggests that the club may view him as an option to lead the Owls throughout the 2019/20 campaign and, potentially, further than that.
From the club’s view, it makes sense as well, changing manager now would risk unsettling the dressing room and halting all the momentum that Bullen has built up but bringing someone in alongside him is much less of a risk.
The Scottish coach’s first thoughts will be the visit of Luton Town this evening but the benefits of a new arrival to his staff must surely be playing on his mind.