 His former Liverpool and Benfica manager Souness was appointed as Blackburn's manager on 15 March 2000.After a disappointing year, which saw Blackburn finish mid-table in the First Division, he was allowed to join Sheffield Wednesday for £200,000 after just 21 appearances; just like Blackburn when Harkness had joined them a year earlier, Wednesday had just been relegated from the Premier League.His Owls debut came on 30 September 2000 in the 2–0 league defeat to Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium.