Sheffield Wednesday star gives straightforward answer on Wednesdayite pressure and Owls’ quality

The 37-year-old has played against the Owls on 12 occasions in his career – he’s only faced two teams more than that – so was well aware of what they can be like.

‘Stocko’ has settled in well at Hillsborough since his move from Wycombe Wanderers over the summer, and he says that he and his teammates are always out to give the fans something to cheer about.

When asked about the supporters he replied, “I’ve been very impressed, although I knew what was coming because I’ve played against Wednesday quite a lot over the years. So I had kind of a head start in terms of what I was coming into.

“For me it was about the pressure, about trying to do your best under that pressure of fans wanting to win every game.

“I know it’s not possible some of the time, but you’ve got to still do it.

“You’ve got to do it when the chips are down, when fans have travelled hundreds of miles, you’ve still got to try and turn out a performance. Or you stand up and say sorry.”

Stockdale also touched on the quality of his teammates at Wednesday, many of whom he’s played against in the past, and admitted that they’d been just as good as he expected them to be.

“To be fair,” he said with a smile. “I don’t watch much football, but playing against these players… They’re all as good as I thought they were. And I thought they were good.

“When I was at Wycombe I’d be the one saying ‘Make sure we get Baz Bannan off this pitch’ or ‘Make sure we keep George Byers quiet’. That kind of thing.

“But that’s what it is in football you gain a reputation, and I’ve come in here knowing their reputations… And you expect them to come out and do it, and they have.”

Stockdale has kept five clean sheets in 10 games so far this season, and will be hoping to add one more to that tally this weekend when the Owls travel to Port Vale.

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