Sheffield Wednesday dealt late night blow with piece of relegation battle confirmed beyond doubt

The Millers’ fate had been all but sealed for some weeks, with manager Leam Richardson unable to rouse enough of a shift in fortunes since his arrival to the club before Christmas. His side have sat rock bottom of the second tier since early December.

The result means more to Wednesday in that they fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle, a side that started the evening two points ahead of the 23rd-placed Owls in the first safety spot. Their win, courtesy of a first half Bali Mumba strike, pushed them into 19th in the table heading into tomorrow’s fixtures and extends Wednesday’s deficit to three.

Birmingham City now sit as the team in the first safety spot - and stand as the side Wednesday and Huddersfield Town are chasing. The Owls take on QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday hoping to put a dent in the three-point gap.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Wednesday defender Andy Hinchcliffe said: “Clearly it’s been coming all season long for Rotherham, but I think tonight was an example of the season as a whole. There was plenty of application, character, desire. It’s just a lack of quality at both ends of the pitch.

“For Plymouth, this is a massive win, a massive three points and a game they deserved to win. (Interim manager) Neil Dewsnip got his tactics just right and his players responded to the pressure that they’re under.”