Sheffield Wednesday boss heralded as 'tactical genius' by buzzing Owls debutant Cole McGhee
Cole McGhee was absolutely delighted to get his Sheffield Wednesday debut against Leeds United, and hailed his manager, Henrik Pedersen.
McGhee only joined the Owls over the summer, coming on board as a free agent after leaving Preston North End, but he was soon in amongst Pedersen’s threadbare first team at Middlewood Road, and this week was handed the biggest test of his career after being asked to start as a centre back against a top-flight opponent.
The 19-year-old acquitted himself well, though, and - like all of his young teammates - finished the game with plenty of plaudits coming his way. They were 10 minutes or so from keeping a clean sheet, as well.
It was billed as a big team effort from everyone, with penalty hero, Ethan Horvath, quickly praising the young lads in front of him, while McGhee opted to talk about his manager - who he says mapped out the whole game for them.
Henrik Pedersen is ‘a genius tactically’
“It’s honestly unbelievable,” he told Sky Sports. “Making my debut in such a big game, it’s what you dream of as a kid, really… We just had to set our mind to it, it’s about what you want to achieve, what you want to do - because that helps you improve as much as possible.
“Especially at such a young age, playing against senior players like that who have been there done that. It’s a good learning curve… The gaffer is a genius tactically, and he gave us a plan. You can hear him on the sidelines coaching us through it, and I feel like together as a team we were able to achieve that plan and got the result from it.”
It remains to be seen when McGhee will get his next outing in Wednesday colours as the club return to Championship action this weekend, however he’s certainly put his hand up for more chances in the future after a very solid outing against Premier League opposition on Tuesday night.
Wednesday will discover their next Carabao Cup opponents later this evening once the Manchester United and Grimsby Town fixture has been played out.
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