Sheffield Wednesday: Owls derby ace Pudil points finger at players over Carvalhal exit

Several pundits and bookmakers tipped the Owls to mount a serious automatic promotion challenge back in August.

But Wednesday’s expensively-assembled team have grossly under-performed, recording a paltry seven victories from their 27 Championship matches.

Their dismal form culminated in head cpach Carlos Carvalhal departing Hillsborough on Christmas Eve.

Dutchman Jos Luhukay recently replaced Carvalhal in the managerial hot-seat and his team earned a credible draw in his first match in charge against Sheffield United last week.

Pudil, who scooped the man-of-the-match award at Bramall Lane, told The Star: “It is not about the managers. We didn’t play well. That wasn’t just the fault of Carlos, all the squad has to share in that.

“We have to work hard and repeat what we did in those last two years. There are still a lot of games left and we try our best to reach the play-offs.

“If we don’t believe that, we should not be here. It is still possible but that is down to us. We have to step on the pitch and work hard like we did against Sheffield United.

“How many games do we have? 19, I think. That is a lot of points.”

Carvalhal left the Owls in 15th position, having led Wednesday to the play-offs in the past two seasons.

“Carlos did well over two and a half seasons; he deserves credit,” insists Pudil. “We were twice in the play-offs and played great football. But it was time for a change and these things happen in football. You have to move on and we have a new manager. He played a new formation (against United) and I think for the first game we did well.”

Pudil impressed in a three-man defence as Wednesday recorded a sixth league clean sheet.

He said: “I think the new system suited us. I like the formation because it means you have wide players who can play.

“We did well against Sheffield United, to say we only had four or five sessions.

“It was a tough game but I think we prepared well. We did well. We were defensively strong. We closed the spaces so United couldn’t play. I don’t think we deserved to win but I think we had more chances than United.”

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