'Sheffield Wednesday are coming for you' - Owls hoping to cause panic on the streets of Oxford, Wycombe Sunderland

That’s the message Sheffield Wednesday players hope to send to the teams above them by continuing a run of form that has seen them go to within four points of the top two.

Darren Moore’s men sit seventh, a point shy of the playoff places but with a game in hand on three of the better-placed sides.

They welcome table-topping South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United to Hillsborough on Sunday hoping to complete a derby double.

And the growing momentum at S6 will have been noticed by their like, according to skipper Barry Bannan.

“Teams will see that Wigan had only lost one away game all season,” he said.

“Probably teams would think it was going to be a draw or Wigan might beat us. We won and they’ll see four wins in a row and with a big club like this it’s just automatic you’re going to be think, ‘They’re coming’.

“It would be the same for us if we were above Sunderland and they were on a similar run.

“We need to use that to our advantage and keep winning games because the more we win, the more we’re going to start putting the panic up people.”

It’s not long since back-to-back away defeats at Sunderland and Shrewsbury put a pin in pre-Christmas optimism as Wednesday looked to rejoin the top six for the first time since October.

But their current run, which also includes four consecutive clean sheets, has shown a confidence the Owls have not always presented.

Wednesday boast the best defence in the division in home matches and on Sunday face a side in even better form, with the Millers having won five on the spin.

“When we’ve gone ahead before the last couple of games we’ve tended to sit in and try and defend the lead but in the last couple of weeks, we’ve been on the front foot,” said Bannan.

“There’s been a new energy. When we lost to Sunderland we had 10 days off [playing] but we were in [training] every day, double sessions.

“I think we’re a lot fitter and stronger now.

“I think that’s a big part of holding onto 1-0 leads as well.”