Sheffield Wednesday: Why the Owls owe a lot to ex boss Carlos Carvalhal

Carvalhal returns to S6 today - less than two months after departing the Owls by mutual consent. The Portuguese chief led Wednesday to back-to-back play-offs and Loovens insists he left them on good terms.

“No one will say a bad word about Carlos because he did a good job and got along with all the players here,” he said. “He brought in most players, he extended most players’ contracts so everyone owes him a lot. He got the respect from everybody.”

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In front of the TV cameras, the Owls host the Swans tomorrow lunchtime, kick-off 12:30pm, in the FA Cup. Swansea set-up the fifth round tie after thumping Notts County 8-1 in a replay last week.

“I text Carlos to say it would be nice if we were to see each other in the cup and then we picked them out!” said Loovens. “It will be nice to catch up with him.”

Wednesday are seeking to book a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time since 1997.

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Loovens said: “I still think we have to keep going in the league as well and make sure we stop looking behind us, but the FA Cup is something to look forward to, especially against our old manager. It will be a nice fixture.

“I’ve played an FA Cup final before so I know how big the event is. It’s a nice thing to experience but there’s still a long way to go to the final so let’s see how it goes on Saturday.

“We can take a lot of positives out of the Derby game and it’s good that it’s another home game.

“Hopefully it’ll be a good atmosphere to help push us over the line.”

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