What Josh Windass has been told heading into Sheffield Wednesday final countdown

Pouncing on chaos in the Blackburn Rovers defence, Windass’ long-range effort showed immense technique as he shifted his body to lob walkabout goalkeeper Aynsley Pears to put Wednesday into an early lead. Though this was soon cancelled-out by Sammie Szmodics, the Owls went on to battle to a vital 3-1 win. The 30-year-old received huge praise from onlookers for an effective performance, his fourth since returning from injury.

Yorkshire-born Windass, one of the swathe of Wednesday players approaching the end of their contracts at S6, is developing a reputation for producing big moments in big games - not least the diving header that delivered promotion from League One via the play-off final last May. With only two matches remaining in their attempt to complete a historic survival effort, it will be hoped that he can perform more acts of quality before the campaign is out.

Speaking to The Star some time after the final whistle at Ewood Park, Owls boss Röhl spoke candidly on a one-to-one chat with Windass held on Saturday.

“I spoke the day before with Josh in an individual meeting,” Röhl said. “I told him what I demanded from him today (v Blackburn) and he said he agreed, that he demands a lot from himself. This is important, it is not just about talk and talk, it is about showing and Josh showed how helpful he can be for us.

“A lot of players came into the game and showed up. It was not just about talking and talking and talking, it was about really showing. For Josh the last weeks have not been easy, he had a big injury and again. I told him he must take responsibility. If you want to be a big player and a strong leader on the pitch then you must also take responsibility and show up, it makes no sense just to talk. He did this.

“He delivered, he fought for every inch and this was important, he showed his quality. With this performance from everybody we can go in the last two games.”

Club captain Barry Bannan has been through a great deal with Windass during their shared four-and-a-half years at S6; from Championship relegation to a failed play-off campaign and the drama of last season.

On the opener at Blackburn, Bannan said: “If you wanted it to drop to someone, it probably would be him because he’s a clean striker of a ball and his technique is really, really good. Listen, he’s a big, big player, he brings big moments as we’ve seen in his Sheffield Wednesday career. He’s got a habit of scoring big goals and his Blackburn goal is probably right up there.

“It was a great goal and that shows you how much he’s been missed. He’s a big player for this club and we’ve missed not having him on the pitch.”