Sheffield Wednesday: 'We have done excellent to be where we are in the league' - Owls star praises team's mental fortitude

Winger Adam Reach has saluted the mental toughness of his Owls team-mates after a period of uncertainty off the pitch.
Sheffield Wednesday's Adam Reach (20) and Leeds United's Ezgjan Alioski battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at HillsboroughSheffield Wednesday's Adam Reach (20) and Leeds United's Ezgjan Alioski battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough
Sheffield Wednesday's Adam Reach (20) and Leeds United's Ezgjan Alioski battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough

Wednesday kicked off the 2019/20 season without a permanent manager after Steve Bruce controversially walked out on the Championship club to become Newcastle United's boss in mid-July.

Lee Bullen filled in on a caretaker basis following Bruce's departure and admirably held the fort until September.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But chairman Dejphon Chansiri opted to appoint Garry Monk as Bruce's permanent successor in the wake of a lacklustre home defeat to Queens Park Rangers.

Nearly two months into Monk's reign and the former Swansea City defender has made a promising start to life at Hillsborough, overseeing four victories from his eight league outings.

Saturday's well-earned draw with promotion-chasing Leeds United extended the Owls' unbeaten run to four matches and kept them in the play-off positions.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield after Wednesday's goalless stalemate with Leeds, Reach said: "I think the players themselves have got to take a really big amount of credit because we have had to fight through adversity this summer.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It is not ideal losing your manager that close to a season and then we didn't have a permanent manager for a while.

"I think we have done excellent to be where we are in the league.

"You could have seen teams really easily just get in freefall and drop down that league and end up having too much to do.

"But we have stuck in there and got ourselves in a good position and finally I think we have got a manager who is the right man at the right time and we have got the quality of players.

"We have got someone who is improving every player.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I think everyone can admit they have improved in some area under him and we need to keep that going."

Although the Owls are fifth in the table after 14 fixtures, Reach is refusing to get carried away.

He said: "There is plenty more work to do. There are still areas we can improve on and we are always striving to get better."

Wednesday return to action with a trip to out-of-form Blackburn Rovers this weekend. Tony Mowbray's side have slipped to 17th after losing four out of their last six matches.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.