Quirk of record at Rangers and elsewhere gives Josh Windass added fire in the belly to win Sheffield Wednesday title

The Owls went out at the play-off semi-final stage last time out having finished fourth in the league – with heartbreaking scenes at the end of a two-legged defeat at Hillsborough living long in the memory.

Fast forward to now and Wednesday have earned themselves a real chance of not only automatic promotion but the League One title.

The last time the club won a league title of any kind was in the 1958/59 season and all focus is on continuing their remarkable run of five months unbeaten to end that 64-year itch.

“Everybody wants to win the league,” said Josh Windass, the hugely in-form forward whose form in the last few weeks has helped to renew Wednesday’s status as title favourites.

“We wanted to win it last year and obviously didn’t do it.

"This year we’re going to try to do our best to do so and hopefully we can keep that mentality and keep going because it’s far, far from over.”

And there is added incentive for Windass to achieved automatic promotion with the Owls and take out the ‘pot luck’ nature of the play-offs.

Last year’s Sunderland disappointment was not the first semi-final kick in the gut experienced by the 29-year-old in a career that has taken him from non-league to Accrington Stanley, to Rangers and to Wigan Athletic.

And it’s a feeling he doesn’t have any intention of risking again.

“I’ve got the worst luck ever in semi-finals,” Windass said.

“I think I’ve played in six lots of semi-finals and lost six, it’s not a good thing to have to admit.

“One play-off with Accy [Accrington Stanley], four semi-finals in Scotland and last year obviously, I played the second leg.

“It 100 per cent gives me more fire in the belly.

"They’re one-off games really and though it’s not a very good record every time you get there you’re thinking ‘Right, this is my semi-final’.

“Let’s hope I don’t have that feeling and we don’t have a semi-final this year.”