Sheffield Wednesday: Owls boss makes call for calm

Some supporters questioned Carvalhal’s squad rotation policy in the wake of Saturday’s heavy defeat away to Bristol City.

The Portuguese head coach freshened up his starting line-up, making six changes, although injury and illness deprived him of the services of Keiren Westwood, Glenn Loovens and Gary Hooper.

The trio could all be pushing for first-team returns when the Owls look to bounce back at home to eighth-placed Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Carvalhal told The Star: “I don’t know any team in the world who over a season doesn’t have four or five accidents in this kind of marathon.

“Even Barcelona and Real Madrid have accidents. It is not just our team.”

“We played very well in the first 10 minutes at Bristol City but we had a period for 35 minutes where we weren’t ourselves but that’s part and parcel of football,” he added. “There are some days when we will play better than others.”

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Following their first defeat in six outings, Wednesday dropped to sixth in the Championship with five matches left. Carvalhal’s charges are five points clear of nearest rivals Cardiff City, who they entertain in their final home outing on April 30. They are effectively six ahead of the Bluebirds due to their vastly superior goal difference.

Carvalhal, who held a team-talk on the pitch after their 4-1 thumping at Ashton Gate, has challenged his players to respond strongly, starting against Ipswich this weekend.

“My focus all the time is on my team and we have a lot of things to correct in the next game,” said the ex-Sporting Lisbon and Beşiktaş chief.

“We are looking all the time to us, we have two home games and Ipswich is the next one which is the most important.

“I know my team; we are together with the fans. We lost three points on Saturday but we have our team and we are together.

“We will have a very good reaction.”

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