"It’s within us”: Sheffield Wednesday new boy Chey Dunkley in ambitious promotion talk
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That’s according to the man himself, who said that his experience of dealing with Wigan’s points deduction last season can help the Owls overcome the self-same burden of a minus 12-point deficit this time out.
Dunkley said that all players and staff had held a meeting to discuss the blow, which Wednesday are appealing, and that if they are able to build early momentum they can mount a promotion challenge through the playoffs. The message? Anything is possible.
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Hide AdThe Owls were named as 5-2 second favourites for relegation after the release of the Championship fixtures this morning, odds the new-look Hillsborough side will be desperate to overcome.
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, 28-year-old Dunkley said: “It’s a challenge.
“I’ve had it already last season with Wigan and I’d say it is better to have it at the start of the season than the end. We almost did the unthinkable at Wigan and one of the things that stood out we knew we were going to get deducted 12 points was that togetherness.
“Our coaching staff and everybody at the club, we’ve had our meeting and addressed it, we know where we are and we know the milestones we want to set.
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Hide Ad“We know we’re starting with a 12-point deduction and as quickly as we can get those wins, the less we can talk about it, we just need to take it game by game, you can’t look too far ahead and we start with Cardiff away.”
The centre-half, who arrived at Hillsborough last week on a free transfer after his contract at Wigan ran out in June, spoke of the need to get to even points as soon as possible and while the holy grail of promotion is something he won’t rule out, small-term goals are going to be important as the Owls set about their season.
Dunkley was reportedly also of interest to the likes of Bristol City and Watford and said that one of the great pulls of Wednesday was the challenge of being one of the players to end two decades of hurt outside the top tier.
“You can’t look too far ahead and by the way, it’s not guaranteed you’re going to win four games on the bounce,” he said. “It can happen and we’re going to aim to do that, but we need to have that resilience and that focus.
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Hide Ad“We are behind everyone else, but we’ve got characters here. Don’t write us off yet. We need to hit that milestone first and then we’ve got targets set moving up the leagues.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we could get promoted. Of course it’s hard to get automatic with the 12 point deduction, but it’s within us to push on and get promoted.
“I personally think we’ve got enough in this dressing room to get past that 12 points and then continue that momentum to building a season. Then we’ll see where we are then.”