Unpredictable as this season is likely to continue to be, one thing I reckon we can safely say about Sheffield Wednesday. They will be “in” most games with a chance of taking points from them.
And that competitive trait carries all manner of possibilities after back-to-back wins that set up a chance of closing a five-point gap to the play-offs, as opposed to the alternative focus of being ten points clear of the bottom three.
A consistent pattern has been established since the improvement launched in mid-September. Added to which the Owls have developed the happy habit of tilting close games in their favour.
Now a big chance beckons in an approaching clutch of matches that will be crucial to the direction the season takes. Of the next eight fixtures, at least half a dozen are in the winnable category. Not until Wednesday go to Leeds on January 19th do they face opposition guaranteed to provoke any real sense of dread.
It all starts with visits from Preston and Blackburn. Hillsborough double headers have not been kind so far this campaign, delivering just one point and three points in the previous two. If this next one yields, say, four points then Danny Rohl’s side can start to entertain hopes above anyone’s realistic expectations.
Oxford away and Stoke back at home to follow. Again, a big opportunity.
While it’s true that no game is easy at any level and the Championship is particularly tight, these are the sort a progressive team has to handle. Fair dos, the Boxing Day trip to Middlesbrough looks daunting. But Preston away to follow is much less so and then there are visits from Derby and Millwall to kick off the New Year.
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We’ll know so much more by then, especially as Rohl will be hoping to add quality in the window loan market. He has been publicly forthright about that, talking of landing high quality loans from the Premier League. This is a sign of a man in a hurry, not content with a cushy mid-table even if that would satisfy many others.
Maintaining a chance of something more will have a bearing on the desired recruitment, helpful in swaying targeted players and their clubs. If Rohl sees a chance to accelerate Wednesday’s progression, as he clearly does, then he is very openly determined to take it.
He’ll worry about what happens next later. And let’s not forget Wednesday’s storming run under this manager in the second half of last season. As so often in the past, it’s over to the man at the top…
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