Henrik Pedersen praises 'really, really strong' Sheffield Wednesday culture and makes Derby County admission
Despite the predicament they currently find themselves in, Sheffield Wednesday’s refusal to roll over has earned plaudits at several junctures so far this season.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen believes his players have grown as both footballers and humans this season amid the testing circumstances they continue to find themselves in.
After a summer unlike any other, Wednesday were widely expected to become the Championship’s whipping boys this season, regularly finding themselves on the wrong end of one-sided scorelines.
Although Wednesday have encountered one or two days to forget, most notably their 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United in last month’s Steel City derby, they have, on the whole, been relatively competitive, with six of their 12 Championship defeats so far this season being by a one-goal margin.
The Owls were desperately unlucky not to clinch their second victory of the season against Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night, conceding a 97th minute equaliser, meaning they were forced to settle for a point. Charlie McNeill had scored what looked as though it would be the winning goal with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Although Pedersen’s troops were under the cosh for almost all of the second half, some heroic defending meant it looked as though they would travel back up north with three points in the bag, only for Vivaldo Semedo to force home a late leveller.
Pedersen salutes battling Owls players
Asked about both the fine margins his side have been on the wrong side of and his players’ refusal to throw in the towel, Pedersen told The Star: “I think the players have done a fantastic job. I think there are a lot of players where the individuals have grown a lot, but we have also grown a lot as a team.
“This resilience to be in something that is difficult in life, but also that they can be in phases in the game where it's difficult, and there's no evaluation, only next action. Who do we want to be? Who don't we want to be?
“When one of your teammates is dropping down, how do we push him up again? So I think this culture, not only how we are together beside the pitch, but the performance culture, how we perform together, and here I think we are really, really strong.
“So I think they have grown a lot as a football team, but also on the culture side.”
Following the gut-wrenching conclusion his side experienced against Watford, Pedersen will be determined to see his players go one better against Derby County at Hillsborough on Monday night. The Owls are still searching for their first home win of the season after losing eight and drawing two of their first ten S6 outings this term.
“We know Derby is a very direct team, a physically strong team,” Pedersen said of the Rams. “Here you have to match all the basic things in football.”