"It wasn't long before we gave someone a hiding": Wingmen pulling the strings for promotion-pushing Sheffield Wednesday, says skipper

And so it fell to Nottingham Forest to take the blunt end of a Jordan Rhodes hat-trick in a 4-0 first-half blitz that allowed the Owls to slip into cruise control.

It showed a ruthless streak that Garry Monk’s men have talked about and that they will hope to carry into this weekend’s clash with Bristol City as another promotion rival wanders into the cross-hairs.

And while the headline-grabbing Rhodes and the form of seven-in-six Scot Steven Fletcher are quite rightly the focus of Hillsborough plaudits heading into the match, it is important to note the efforts of the squad’s wingers, according to captain Tom Lees.

Kadeem Harris, Adam Reach and Jacob Murphy have been locked in a battle for pitch time this season – the latter two especially – and Lees believes it is their contribution that has built Wednesday into an attacking force to be reckoned with.

“We have out and out wingers who are putting the ball in the box. We have seen Fletcher has benefited from that and so will Jordan.”

Saturday’s performance was the climax of several weeks frustration in which the Owls failed to covert periods of domination into victories.

“We have created a lot of chances lately and not killed teams off,” Lees said.

“I thought it was only a matter of time before someone was on the end of a hiding.

“We were clinical and got the job done in the first half.”