Sheffield Wednesday: Positive Adam Reach ready to entertain

The two pillars winger Adam Reach has built his game around.

“Every time I step on the pitch and get the ball, I want to be as positive as I can,” Reach told The Star.

“I always try to play with a smile on my face.”

The most expensive player in Sheffield Wednesday’s history has promised to light up Hillsborough as he prepares to make his debut in tomorrow’s clash with Wigan Athletic.

The 23-year-old can play anywhere down the left-hand side. He is adept as a full-back, wing-back or winger but says head coach Carlos Carvalhal has made it clear where he sees hims predominantly playing.

“My natural position is left midfield and that’s where the boss wants me to play,” he said.

“It’s where I think I can do my best for the team but I’ve got other positions that I’m capable of playing in. If the coach needs me to move back to left-back or the right hand side of midfield, I will do that.

“There’s a lot of rotation in teams and you might want to play a different team or personnel to match the team you are playing against so you never know. But I feel like I’m coming here as a wide player.”

As a youngster, Reach watched Wales and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs closely and tried to imitate his hero’s dribbling skills.

Giggs made a club record 963 appearances for United and played 64 times for Wales before hanging up his boots in May 2014

Reach is also a big admirer of Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale.

He said: “Giggs and Bale are the left-sided players who I like. I used to watch Giggs quite a lot growing up and tried to replicate some of his dribbles. He was a quality player.

“Giggs has retired now so Bale is more the modern day role model.

“It is not just the way they play the game but I also like their personalities. They are both humble even though they have had amazing successes in their careers.

“If I could get anywhere close to the success they’ve had in their careers, I would be happy.”

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While Giggs lifted 34 trophies at United, Bale is a double Champions League winner and played a major role in Wales reaching the semi-finals of the European Championships over the summer.

“Giggs always wanted to try and improve, and you could say the same thing about Bale, which is similar to what I want to do,” said Reach. “I want to become the best player I can but stay the same person as I am now.

“No matter how good the good times are, I will never stop trying to improve and get better. Hopefully I can do that at Wednesday and become a better player.”

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Reach is an intelligent, articulate, grounded individual. He recognises he is far from the finished article.

His loan spell at Preston North End last season was a good learning curve for him. He moved to Deepdale at the end of September and was frequently deployed as a wing-back but he was a first-team regular, racking up 36 appearances, hitting four goals.

“I’m only 23 and there are a lot of areas I can improve,” he said. “I think you should always aspire to get more goals as a wide player. Maybe I have to be a little more selfish when I get in the box.

“Wide players tend to try and find the strikers in the box to let them score. If I get the opportunity, I want to score as many goals as I can for the team.”

After hosting Wigan, the Owls entertain Bristol City next Tuesday and Reach is looking forward to the home double-header.

The former England Under-21 international said: “Hillsborough is a daunting place for an away player.

“The atmosphere is loud and intense and I’m really looking forward to being on the home side of that now.

“The club has a massive fan-base.

“The support lifts everyone and gives confidence to the players.

“I know they had close to 30,000 in their last home game and one of the reasons why I wanted to come here was to play in front of big crowds every week.”

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