Sheffield Wednesday chairman resigns

Sheffield Wednesday has announced that Lee Strafford has resigned from his position as chairman with immediate effect with current acting technical advisor Howard Wilkinson appointed as interim chairman until 7 August 2010.

A statement issued by the Sheffield Wednesday board said: ''We would like to place on record its thanks to Mr Strafford for his service and dedication to Sheffield Wednesday. In particular, Mr Strafford's work in communicating with our supporters has fostered a stronger bond between fans and Sheffield Wednesday.''

The board were also keen to stress their intention of getting the relegated club back into the Championship adding: ''The aim is for Sheffield Wednesday to be challenging for promotion during the coming season and as such, major work needs to be done to the first team squad.

''Howard Wilkinson will work closely with Nick Parker and manager Alan Irvine to build a squad that is capable of taking the club back to the Championship as soon as possible.''

Commenting on the changes to the board interim chairman Howard Wilkinson said: "I would like to thank Lee for all his work over the past 18 months. He is a true fan of Sheffield Wednesday and his efforts towards rebuilding this club should not be forgotten.

"It is an honour for me to become Chairman, albeit I stress that this will only be on an interim basis. My focus now is on working with Alan Irvine to build a strong team and one that is capable of achieving promotion back to the Championship as soon as possible.

"It has been a tough few weeks for everybody who cares about Sheffield Wednesday but by working together, we must try to ensure that we are able to look forward to a brighter season ahead."