Neil Mellor has urged Sheffield Wednesday to clear up any uncertainty surrounding their vacant manager’s position.
The Owls coach, Lee Bullen, has been in temporary charge since Steve Bruce defected to Newcastle United a month ago.
And the Scot has led the club he used to captain to the top of the Championship, albeit just two games into the new campaign.
But speaking to The Sack Race this week, Mellor advised caution to those of a Wednesday persuasion who may be getting ahead of themselves.
“To be in charge for the rest of the season is going to be very difficult (for Bullen),” said the former Sheffield Wednesday striker, whose father Ian also played for the Owls. “He’s started well, against teams you would expect Sheffield Wednesday to start well against, in Reading and Barnsley.
“The tougher tests will be against the more fancied sides, like Leeds, West Brom, Fulham, Cardiff, those sort of sides are where the big tests will be.
“It still feels a little bit uncertain because whilst he’s only caretaker, the players are thinking: ‘Is someone else going to be coming in?’ And I think the club need to clear that up.
“If they are going to give it to Lee Bullen, they need to make that announcement sooner rather than later to get rid of that uncertainty at the club.
“Lee Bullen is showing that he can do it and I don’t know what it’s like within that dressing room at Sheffield Wednesday at the moment.
“If they’re all fully committed to the way Lee Bullen is coaching and the way he’s managing then definitely, he’s the right man for the job.
“But when they start losing games and when we start to see how they react to that, that’ll be the thing.”
A number of well-known managers have been linked with the Hillsborough vacancy, although there is little to suggest that any of those are – or ever were – close to being appointed.
Mellor, though, is certain there would be interest.
“It’s a great job to get,” he added. I look at names like Chris Hughton and Gary Rowett… I mean Rafa Benitez managed in the Championship and he’s a Champions League-winning manager. Slaven Bilic is in there for West Brom.
“There are a lot of big-name managers and a club like Sheffield Wednesday, the size of them, I think there’ll be a lot of interest.
“It’s if the owner decides to stick with Lee or not, but he’s doing himself all the favours in the world the way he’s started.”
Sheffield Wednesday travel to Millwall on Saturday, looking to make it three wins out of three for the first time since their 1996-97 Premier League campaign, in which they eventually finished seventh.