“Honestly, it does..” Darren Moore on uglier Sheffield Wednesday efforts amid remarkable David Stockdale fact

Gritty, robust.. at times a little ugly. Wednesday boss Darren Moore would admit the Owls have been far from the free-flowing best that has seen them achieve a goal difference bettered by only Manchester City and Arsenal in the English pyramid this season.

In matches against Accrington Stanley and at home to Shrewsbury Town, a truly harsh critic would suggest that more may have been expected from the swaggering Wednesday attack.

But back-to-back clean sheets mean that Preston North End’s Freddie Woodman and Leyton Orient’s Lawrence Vigouroux (11 apiece) are the only goalkeepers in England with more shut-outs than David Stockdale’s 10.

Is it possible that those gritty showing give Moore more pleasure than the home hammerings offered up from time to time?

“Honestly, it does,” Moore said. “It shows a different side to us and last season, I don’t think you see that from this team last year.

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“After our 19th league game of the season, we’ve seen this team do a bit of everything; good football, percentage play, grittiness, steel, all sorts of different attacking styles and different games.

“When you look back at it, I’m absolutely delighted. Over the course of a season you’re going to get different games and we’re better equipped to deal with that.

“It’s up to us to stick to what we are and who we are in the game plan. These teams make it difficult – you’ve got to give them credit.”

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It has been noted that Moore has built a squad more robust and seemingly together, more tight-knit than sides that have come before it.

“That is probably more important than individuals, really,” Moore continued. “To get a team that is highly committed and showing that togetherness and that spirit, it just goes to show what we are trying to implement at this football club and how we work in training.

“It gives you an idea of the closeness that they all have, which is what we want. We worked hard to bring the right personnel in and create that atmosphere here and we’ve seen that in abundance.”