Sheffield Wednesday: Owls boss remains upbeat despite poor run of form

The Portuguese boss cut a relaxed figure at his pre-match press conference yesterday. His Wednesday team have received plenty of criticism in recent weeks following a worrying dip in form, but Carvalhal is firmly focused on leading a revival.

He is an experienced coach and fully understands the negativity from the terraces following a run of just one victory in seven Championship matches. He admits it is difficult, on occasions, to ignore the criticism.

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“Of course, it (the negativity) hurts you,” said Carvalhal, who has confirmed Sam Hutchinson will undergo knee surgery today and be out of action for several weeks. “We must do better and score more goals. I know how football works.

“The problem that I have maybe in the last two weeks is I’m too emotionally connected to Sheffield Wednesday. It is why I think to myself I must control the emotions a little because if not I will die one of these days! It is why I’m smiling more.

“If you think too much and look to everything, I would be with a heart attack and I don’t want to die young!

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“We are not far away from changing the things. I can’t be here under pressure or crying and not giving a positive message. I must give a positive message, believe in the players and give them confidence and do the same with the fans.

“There have been a lot of negatives around (the club) in the last month.

“We must turn the things around and the only way we will do that is if we are optimists and smiling.”

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