Liam coy on next Wednesday boss

LIAM PALMER wouldn’t be drawn on the prospect of caretaker manager Neil Thompson being appointed Sheffield Wednesday boss for the rest of the season.

The defender scored his first goal since September

2011 – and only his second for the club – to give Thommo

(right) all three points.

It ended a turbulent week in which Paul Cook reportedly rejected a short-term deal to become the Owls’ third boss of the season, while several players have reportedly not been paid their full wages.

Wednesday remain 23rd but within four points of Nottingham Forest in the first safety spot and with a game in hand over their rivals.

They have won three of four games under Thompson but Palmer refused to speculate on him getting the manager’s job, saying: “That’s not really for me to say.

“Decisions like that get made but what we’re here to do is focus on playing. Whoever is in charge you give your all for.” He added: “I think Thommo’s done great. He’s well respected, he’s been here a long time.

“As players we just train and play. We listen to the manager and try to implement what he wants us to do to the best of our ability.”

Preston are six points off the play-offs and, although boss Alex Neil does not discount a possible push for the top six, he insisted this season is one of transition.

He said: “This will be my fourth year here and I think one thing they do display is stability. I think the club does understand the situation we are in.

“We’ve spoken about it at length, it hasn’t just stumbled upon us.

“We’re all on the same page and we know we need to get those next lads in and it might take us a little time to get us back to where we want to be.”

Westwood 7, Palmer 7, Lees 7, Hutchinson 7, Urhoghide 7, Reach 6 (Luongo 80), Pelupessy 6, Bannan 8, Penney 6, Kachunga 6 (Windass 71, 5), Paterson 6 (Rhodes 83)

Iversen 6, Browne 6,

Huntington 6, Davies 6, Hughes 6

(Rafferty 78, 6), Ledson 6 (Johnson 67, 6), Whiteman 7, Sinclair 6, Molumby 6

(Bodin 78, 6), Potts 6 (Barkhuizen 67, 6), Riis Jakobsen 6 (Cunningham 78, 6)