Sheffield Wednesday: Owls ace Sam Hutchinson looks to make family proud

Wednesday’s defensive midfielder is determined to make his family proud.

“My kids are the reason I’m playing football again,” said Hutchinson, who retired from football at the age of 21 due to a recurring knee injury before making an unlikely return a year later with Chelsea. “It makes my day when the kids come to watch me play.”

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Windsor lad Hutchinson lives in Sheffield with his wife Jennifer and the couple have a two-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.

Hutchinson, who agreed a new contract with the Owls on Tuesday, tying him to the Championship club until the summer of 2020, said: “My little boy loves the Owls.

“He doesn’t like taking his Owls kit off! I think even if I wanted to leave I wouldn’t haven’t been allowed to because of them!

“Hopefully I can be an inspiration to them to work hard and to achieve things in future life.”

On and off the pitch, Hutchinson is enjoying life. His family are settled in South Yorkshire and he has been a revelation for Wednesday, starting 23 of their 25 league matches this season.

He said: “I’m buzzing with how many games I’ve played and I can only get better. It is nice that my family are now based in Sheffield and I don’t really go home anymore. My children go to school here and we enjoy it as a family so there’s no reason to go back.

“My life is very much cemented in Sheffield and that’s why I signed a new deal as I’m enjoying myself.”

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After crashing out of the FA Cup, sixth-placed Wednesday resume their Championship campaign against promotion rivals Huddersfield Town this weekend. Carlos Carvalhal’s men have picked up 11 points from their last five league outings.

“Christmas is such a hard slog in the Championship,” admitted Hutchinson. “We didn’t lose which is the main thing but we didn’t score as many goals as we would have liked.

“We ground out a result at Preston and that was a horrible game. We weren’t great and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit that.

“Against Wolves, they had their chances but so did we. Some people will say we were lucky to get a draw but we don’t concede many goals. I’m sure we will be right up there if we can add a few more goals to our game.”

The 27-year-old has praised the job David Wagner has done in turning Huddersfield into top-six contenders.

He said: “I don’t know him personally but it looks from the outside like all the players are playing for him.

“He has done very well and they are right up there. At the beginning of the season, they were beating everyone. Huddersfield are similar to us last year when we were more of a surprise package. They are very strong and we will have to be at our best to beat them.”

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