Championship boss 'didn't realise' how Sheffield Wednesday fans felt about ex-Owl
Sheffield Wednesday are expected to continue to move on from the squad that earned such a dramatic promotion from League One two years ago - but the popularity of those players will seemingly always remain.
Time waits for no man and while the bulk of that team - and the one that so historically sealed survival in the last campaign - remain a big part of things at S6, some of the big names have of course moved on.
One such name is that of Will Vaulks, who made his Hillsborough return over the weekend when his Oxford United side sneaked a 1-0 win to extend his former club’s end-of-season woes. The Wales international spent time out on the field long after the rest of his teammates applauding the Wednesday support after two years with the club.
Vaulks was voted as the Owls’ player of the season by supporters last year and despite that, the popularity of the midfield battler among Wednesday fans is one that took Oxford boss Gary Rowett and his players by surprise. Vaulks provided a trademark long throw to prompt Sam Long’s late winner.
“Walking around Sheffield this morning, the lads were saying that everyone was on them asking about Vaulksy and I don’t think any of us realised what a popular player he was here,” Rowett told The Star. “But he’s been brilliant for us. We’ve got Vaulksy and Cameron (Brannagan) that have both been struggling over the last month or so, but they just get out there.
“He’s a warrior, they both are. You’ve seen him out there, running around, limping around, doing what they can. He’s a player that as a manager you can rely on and I’ve had to rely on them both all season. The fact that Vaulksy has got a long throw as well probably helps, just because of those moments. If you class a long throw as an assist, he’s probably had five or six assists in the last few weeks.”