SHEFFIELD Wednesday last night appointed Carlos Carvalhal as their new head coach - amid mixed messages over whether the Championship club's interest in Town boss Mark Cooper to their coaching staff remained.

The Portuguese was unveiled by the Yorkshire club after weeks of speculation surrounding his appointment and the make-up of the coaching structure at Hillsborough.

Cooper's future at Town has been at the centre of much speculation in recent weeks, with Wednesday seemingly keen to add the 46 year old to their structure.

He was initially thought to be earmarked for as assistant's role under Carvalhal - a position the County Ground chief was not believed to be interested in.

However, last week it appeared as though Wednesday were considering reshuffling their coaching staff to accommodate Cooper in a head coach capacity, although while initial soundings-out were understood to have taken place there had been no official approach for his services.

Carvalhal, formerly of Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas among others, has now been brought in as Wednesday head coach and is joined by fellow countrymen Joao Mario, Joao Cunha and Bruno Lage.

The mystery over Cooper's future - at the County Ground or elesewhere - continued however.

Some reports in Yorkshire last night indicated that Wednesday had not yet ended their interest in adding Cooper to their ranks, with Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri seemingly still keen on having a British presence to work alongside Carvalhal.

However, other sources indicated that any prospect of Cooper heading to Sheffield was now dead in the water.

Cooper, who has been Town manager since the summer of 2013 when he took over from Kevin MacDonald, took Town's training session at their new temporary base of Beversbrook in Calne today.

"Sheffield Wednesday are delighted to announce the appointment of Carlos Carvalhal as head coach at Hillsborough," read a statement on the club's website.

"The Portuguese is joined by backroom team and compatriots Joao Mario, Joao Cunha and Bruno Lage."

Carvalhal, who has spent the bulk of his managerial career in his homeland, had a spell in charge of Sporting Lisbon while also spending a season with Turkish giants Besiktas.

"I firmly believe that this appointment will take our team and our club to the next level and towards where we all want to be, the Premier League," said Chansiri.

"It is important for our supporters that they watch their team play attractive, aggressive and entertaining football.

"Carlos buys in completely to this philosophy and I am confident that his experience, knowledge and ability will herald the start of a successful new era for Sheffield Wednesday."

The Owls have undergone a complete change in management structure this summer, with the introduction of a Sporting Director Committee to oversee affairs at Hillsborough.

That committee includes former West Ham and Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder, scout Paul Senior and former Fulham coach Jonathan Hill.