Finishing off with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday’s pre-season is over. While it ended badly with that loss to the Scottish giants, the rest of the summer went pretty well as they picked up wins all over the place against the likes of Doncaster Rovers, Portimonense and Mansfield Town.

But on Saturday, the season proper will begin and that’s when the pressure starts. The Owls are expected to once again challenge for promotion but after two crushing defeats in the play-offs, it will be tough to carry that momentum for yet another year. And after that disappointment, the fans are starting to become more impatient. It’s likely that they are going to less patient than ever this season so a poor run of form could see the team get turned on.

But going into that season opener against Preston North End, what do we know about this team?

It’s going to be very much the same as last year

Any Wednesday fan looking for a revolution in the squad this summer will be very disappointed. Carlos Carvalhal is more interested in refinement and looking to improve slightly what he has and you can tell that this summer. There has only been one transfer, with George Boyd signing, and in pre-season friendlies the team have played in that patient way which has become divisive at Hillsborough. So it’s best to see this season as a continuation rather than a complete restart of what we’ve seen before and that is going to split the fan base before a ball is kicked in anger.

The defence looks sketchy, especially when you look at the depth issues

Something that goes back to when Stuart Gray was in charge is that Wednesday have had great defences. The partnership between Glenn Loovens and Tom Lees has reaped rewards, with several historic records being matched while they were holding down the fort. But that great defence, the third best in the league last time out, has been showing some cracks. The depth issues are well-known, Wednesday need new centre-backs and they needed them yesterday, but even the Lees-Loovens partnership isn’t looking great. At times both have appeared not be at the races and Rangers had a lot of fun attacking them on Sunday. This could be a huge issue going into this season.

There’s glimpses of better to come from previous underwhelming signings

When Wednesday spent big last year, it didn’t seem to go well. Two of the signings that the Owls splashed out on were Adam Reach and Jordan Rhodes and while I don’t think it’d be truthful to call either bad moves, but both certainly didn’t match up to the lofty expectations put on them. However during pre-season, both players have been in good form and have shown that they can be crucial players this season. Perhaps realising that competition for places will be fierce this season, both players have upped their efforts and have caught the eye this summer. Both have netted multiple times with Reach scoring some pearlers. If they carry this form on, they’ll be like new signings.

George Boyd is looking like a nifty signing

There’s been a lot of arguments over the lack of signings that Wednesday have made this summer and that’s understandable. The club have a lot of problem areas that still need addressing, so to only see one person come through the doors is rather exasperating. But let’s look at the one signing that Wednesday did make, Boyd from Burnley. And while some doubted this deal because of his lack of speed, he does look like he will be a great signing. In pre-season he has managed to find a lot of space whether on the right or left and his crosses have been quality. Now it’s up to him to show this form in the season proper.

It hasn’t exactly given the fans a lot of hope

You’d think that Wednesday fans would be very happy at the moment. Despite the play-off loss, they finished in their highest position since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2012. They have players like Gary Hooper, Ross Wallace and Barry Bannan. Compare that to players such as Chris O’Grady, Giles Coke and Jermaine Johnson who the club entered the league with back in 2012, it’s a massive upgrade no one really though would happen. But because expectations are so high and pre-season has been underwhelming due to the lack of signings plus off-field issues like the club’s kit yet to be revealed, the fans aren’t happy. They are ready to pounce on any mistake and it means that if the club don’t get off to a great start on Saturday, Hillsborough could end up being a nasty place to play for the home team.