Sheffield Wednesday boss hails substitutions and reveals changing room message before Swansea City win

On Wednesday evening the Owls achieved something that hadn’t been done by the club since back in 1983 - an away victory over the Swans in Wales. Michael Smith was the man who secured it, coming off the bench to finish with aplomb, and now Röhl’s side find themselves eighth in the Championship table with 45 points to their name.

And the Wednesday boss was delighted with his team’s performance, speaking explicitly about the work from those who came onto the pitch in the second half in order to get the vital goal and then see the match out.

Speaking to the media afterward, he said, “I think our pressing today was very good. We adjusted some small things at half time, and especially in the second half we had a lot of good ball-winning situations. We forced them back, to back passes, and that was a crucial thing today.

"And not for the first time our bench, our subs, helped us a lot. I think we’re the team with the most amount of goals from subs. It says a lot about our squad at the moment, how we stick together, and we’ve spoken a lot about clean sheets - that was helpful…

"I try always to prepare for what happens during games, who we need on the pitch at the end, and at the beginning… I said to my players in my final speech today that for the first 60 minutes we would have a team that would fight for every inch, and the last 30 minutes a team on the pitch that would win the game.”

Wednesday now have a quick turnaround before their game against Coventry City on Saturday, and they’ll be hoping to build on their Welsh win by finally returning to winning ways on home soil at Hillsborough.

The Star has a dedicated Sheffield Wednesday WhatsApp Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click here to join