"Anyone that scores 40 goals in a season.." Sheffield Wednesday striker opens up on Jordan Rhodes' place at the club

Sheffield Wednesday man of the moment Jordan Rhodes can be an important weapon in their bid to stay in the Championship.
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That’s according to his in-form striker teammate Callum Paterson, speaking ahead of their trip to Millwall this weekend.

Rhodes netted a last-minute winner in the Owls’ 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Tuesday evening after Paterson had poked home a first half opener.

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The win gathered momentum heading into what is another vital clash and continued a rich vein of form against a side that have won only one home match this season.

Sheffield Wednesday's Jordan Rhodes is hoping to kick on from his winning goal in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday.Sheffield Wednesday's Jordan Rhodes is hoping to kick on from his winning goal in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Sheffield Wednesday's Jordan Rhodes is hoping to kick on from his winning goal in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday.

“A last-minute winner against anyone is tremendous, but a last-minute winner against a team that’s coming down from the Premier League is even better,” Paterson said.

“For someone like Jordy to get the goal in the last minute is unbelievable, he works so hard, he always has a smile on his face coming in every day.

“I’ve known him for years, he’s a fellow Scotsman,” he laughed, touching on Oldham-born Rhodes’ 14 Scotland caps. “Everyone was delighted for him, I was delighted for him and he was delighted for himself.”

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Rhodes is coming to the end of his contract at Hillsborough and has admitted himself that life has been difficult for him at times during his time with the club.

He hasn’t been a first team regular for several years and has played only 405 Championship minutes this campaign, scoring in his first and last outings. Indeed, he hasn’t started since the second day of the season 140 days ago but has looked bright in his last two substitute performances.

Paterson is one of thousands hoping that whether a contract extension is completed or not, the club-record signing can return to his former glories and end the season on a high in a Wednesday side safely out of the Championship relegation spots.

The former Cardiff City man said: “I’ve not been here the last few years, so I’m not sure what’s gone on at the club, but I know he’s a good guy, he’s a hard-working guy and an honest guy and whatever he’s asked for, he’ll give 100 per cent.

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“Hopefully he gets some more opportunities and you can see what happens, it was a very important goal for us.

“He could be massively important. Anyone that scores 40 goals in one season can never be brushed under the carpet, do you know what I mean?

“Like I say, hopefully he gets more opportunities because we need all the goals that we can get.”

Competition for places has jumped up a notch in recent weeks with the return of several key man from injury.

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Josh Windass, Elias Kachunga, Jack Marriott and new boy Andre Green all vying for minutes up top.

“There are plenty of players that compliment each other. There’s me and Kacha, there’s Jordan and Josh, there are loads of combinations that we can try and hopefully that we can try, so hopefully everyone stays fit and confident and we can build more relationships.”

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