Senior Sheffield Wednesday striker lets Bailey Cadamarteri in on a little tip to push on

Michael Smith scored 20 times across all competitions in his debut Owls campaign as they secured a dramatic promotion from League One. Things have been tougher this time around, with only one goal in nine appearances.

However, Smith hopes that a change in manager can cement his place back in Wednesday’s core plans, having been named on the bench in half of their league matches this season.

Another player hoping for increased opportunity is teenage forward Bailey Cadamarteri. The 18-year-old was named on the bench for their latest outing by caretaker boss Neil Thompson, his manager at the under-21 level, after already scoring nine times this season for the Owls’ second-string.

Training time with the first team has been relatively limited to date, though he did feature in at least one session under Xisco.

Smith has encouraged the likes of Cadamarteri and winger Joey Phuthi to speak to senior players and gain valuable knowledge about what it takes to forge a career at the first-team level.

“We haven’t had to see them too much; we see them at lunch and in situations like that and might have a word,” Smith told The Star.

“We got to spend plenty of time with them in Spain, and now and then, we have little chats. That’s all I wanted as a young lad coming through; you’re a sponge trying to soak in everything senior players might say to you and how they perform in training. They were senior pros that have been there and done it.

“We’ve got a good group now in the under-21s. The more they train with us, the more we can offer that support, and the more we’ll get to know them.”

Smith spent time in the youth ranks at West Ham United as a youngster but found a route into the senior game with Darlington. While the names he was learning from may not have been the biggest, the knowledge he garnered from speaking to those operating at a level above him was invaluable, he said.

“My youth team coach at the time was a guy called Craig Liddle who has played a lot,” he said. “I learned a lot from him. There were guys like Liam Hatch and Ian Miller, players like that. They’d played a lot of league games.

“I tried to sit down and talk to them; it’s important you’re not shy about asking questions.”