Sheffield Wednesday: Play-offs should be minimum target for Owls next season, says Jordan Thorniley

Although Wednesday have won four of their last six Championship matches, they look set to finish in the bottom half of the table after a troubledcampaign.

Several bookmakers and pundits tipped the Owls to figure in the promotion race at the start of this term but the team have under-performed, prompting the club to change their manager midway through the year.

A lengthy injury list has also had an adverse effect on their results and Wednesday flirted, albeit briefly, with relegation.

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But boss Jos Luhukay, who succeeded Carlos Carvalhal at the helm, has led the team to safety with three matches left to spare.

It promises to be a summer of change at Hillsborough as Luhukay looks to reshape his bloated squad.

“For the size of the club and everything we have here, the play-offs has got to be the minimum target,” Thorniley told The Star. “That would be ideal and I think we have got to look at that.

“Hopefully we can take some momentum into next season.”

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It is no coincidence Wednesday’s form has improved since Fernando Forestieri returned from injury. The star forward has featured in their last five outings, having recovered from a serious knee problem. He opened his goal-scoring account against

Thorniley said: “Fernando is a massive player for us and the fans love him. He’s a very good, technical player.

“We missed his goals and all round play when he was out.

“It has lifted the team that Fernando has come back into the squad.”

Thorniley played an integral role in the Owls recording a clean sheet in Saturday’s triumph at Hull City.

The left-sided player said: “I thought we really defended well off the ball considering Hull had been scoring frequently and we did well to shut up shop.”

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