Sheffield Wednesday chief executive Nick Parker has assured supporters that work is going on to bolster the squad despite the Owls still waiting for their first signing of the summer. Boss Alan Irvine will only be able to bring in out-of-contract players rather than paying transfer fees as they prepare for life in League One.

Season-ticket sales began in November and Wednesday vowed to use cash brought in early for the playing budget.

"We've been getting on with it," he told the Sheffield Star .

"We've got a lot of players to bring in. Alan knows what his budget is.

"Assuming Southampton have a big budget, we think ours will be the second highest in the division.

"You can't know exactly how much to allocate on players before you know how many season tickets you've sold; we've had to take a punt on that.

"We haven't finished selling yet; the higher they go, the more there'll be for the player budget."