After fours on the opening weekend, the Owls have scored just seven in 11 Championship games since. Their tally for the season is the same as Friday’s bottom-of-the-table hosts Portsmouth (who got three at Leeds United on day one), worse only than Swansea City (eight), Preston North End and Plymouth.
It cost the Owls two points against Swansea in midweek and arguably one against Burnley (though there was a defensive slip-up too), undermining their recent improvement when they have ground to make up.
“We could have maybe taken four more points (this season),” says Valentin, which would put the Owls in the top 10.
If they are as wasteful against the worst defence in the division as against Swansea, it will be another missed opportunity to add to the list.
Josh Windass is the club’s joint top league scorer with just two (the same as Barry Bannan), Jamal Lowe and Michael Smith have one each, Ike Ugbo’s only goal since making his loan permanent in the summer came in the League Cup, but this is not just a striker problem.
Yet to find the net in the Championship for a club he joined in the summer of 2023 – he also chipped in at Grimsby Town – right wing-back Valentin knows he needs to do more.
“If I’m honest, it was me who needed to have more instinct to go,” admits the Spaniard as the opposite wing-back, who did get on the end of a later Johnson delivery, only for Josh Tymon to block his effort. “Maybe there are things I was not used to doing before and things are coming that (I understand) I need to go here, I need to go there.
“Whether it’s Pol, Gassa (Djeidi Gassama), Jamal, Ugs (Ubgo), it doesn’t matter, we all need to make the movement. Sometimes you need to do the movement not for you.
“Sometimes if I go for the first ball I will take the centre-back with me and someone will be free.
“We don’t need to just think, ‘I need to score,’ maybe I need to make the movement for someone else.
“When I missed a chance against Swansea (last season) I spoke with Henrik (Pedersen), the assistant coach, and said I want to practice. I think I’m better now but I need to be better (still) and be more clinical in these situations.”
The good news, says Valentin, is there is plenty of that collective thinking at Wednesday, as seen both on the grass and the baize. It has borne fruit defensively.
“After Millwall (a 3-0 defeat in August) we had a meeting to say, ‘Guys, we can’t keep going like this.’ If we had success last season it’s because we were strong in our box first and after if we had the chance to score, we tried to score.
“But first and foremost in football, if you want success you need to be clinical. It’s what we’re trying now.
“We’ve had three clean sheets since Millwall and we need to keep going with this. If we can be more clinical in the other box, we’ll have a lot of points.
“If you have a strong team and good team-mates you feel more confidence on the pitch. You know if you make a mistake the guys behind you will support you. You feel safety.”
That spirit is built in different ways.
“In the training ground we have a pool table and ping pong,” says Valentin. “I’m improving a lot at pool because I was very bad when I came. I’d never played pool in Spain but now I play every day.
“If you don’t pot any balls and the other guy finishes the game when you have seven balls on the table, you need to pay a fine.
“We have some games where everyone plays each other and if you lose you need to pay as well. It’s a good thing to make a better group and a better team.”
Rohl, who has Anthony Musaba fit again at Fratton Park, sees an increasing spirit too.
“We’re growing together,” he says. “We had some changes in the summer and some moments where we’ve improved – for example the win in Coventry gives the group togetherness.
“Sometimes players are a little bit disappointed when they don’t start but they understand more and more. Everyone gets the minutes because when you have games, games, games everybody’s important.”
And in fairness, they have not simply battened down the hatches post-Millwall.
“If you are clinical in your box but you are not creating chances at the other end you could say we needed to change something because we will not score,” says Valentin.
“We are strong in the other box because we are creating chances but we need to finish the chances. These things can change and we will change this and score lots of goals.”
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