Soccer-Sheffield Wednesday owner says payments will be delayed, defends Pulis sack

(Reuters) - Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri said on Thursday that player wages and ticket refunds will take longer to process with the club struggling to make ends meet after the COVID-19 pandemic hit their finances.

British media reported earlier this month that Wednesday players were seeking guidance from the Professional Footballers' Association after the second-tier Championship club failed to pay their salaries on time.

"With the COVID situation, we don't have any revenue. We didn't defer the players' wages like other clubs. We tried our best to do it," Chansiri told a news conference.

"The payments will be paid, just a little bit late. We have expenses every day, every month. Everyone has a problem -- we have a problem with cash flow -- but at the end the players will get paid."

Chansiri, a Thai businessman, also gave guarantees that fans who opted for a refund will get their money back with matches being played behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

"I can guarantee they will get their refund at the end," he added. "We have many issues. We've just changed the system, it's a little bit slow and taking a bit longer.

"We didn't expect 50%-60% to want refunds, the fans must be a little bit patient."

Chansiri also defended his decision to sack Tony Pulis on Monday, 45 days into his tenure, after he managed just one win from his 10 games in charge.

Chansiri said Pulis "didn't know how to manage the team" and he did not think the 62-year-old Welshman was the right fit.

"We need to play attacking football. We need to play two strikers, not 5-4-1. We changed the plan after (Pulis left), we played more attacking," Chansiri added.

Wednesday currently sit 22nd in the standings and in the relegation zone.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)