The role has altered - but feeling behind Ike Ugbo's Sheffield Wednesday lift-off is changing

The Sheffield Wednesday striker, who for months had run a tireless path in his pursuit of a first Championship goal since his £2.5m permanent move to S6, was suddenly different; his shoulders sunken and his vigour not quite as evident. The runs he was making were not as effective, he wore the look of a player not broken, but maybe breaking.

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A missed penalty in an eventual 2-2 draw against Millwall saw the Canada international visibly emotional, his opportunity to snap the hoodoo passed-up and booted into the stands. He tore off his shirt in anguish at the whistle for half-time and had to be consoled on his way down the tunnel. It was a difficult and concerning watch and outings soon afterwards did little to swell confidence.

Perhaps time away from the piercing glare of match action since has done him good. Ugbo started the Owls’ win at Swansea City on Wednesday evening and presented a vision of activity, pulling defenders around with intelligent runs, winning the ball high up the pitch and playing a part in some of their most incisive attacking moves. He played with his chest higher and his instincts clearer - and while his goalless role in the win may not have been the one envisaged when completing his transfer from Troyes, it offered a peek into a growing confidence.

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Michael Smith rose from the bench in place of Ugbo to again provide the goal that swung the game and speaking post-match delivered praise to his striker comrade on a job well done in testing the Swansea defence and opening the game up for the ‘finishers’ to take advantage. Wednesday boss Danny Röhl made clear it had been a confident, blitzing effort in training that had earned Ugbo a return to the Championship starting line-up.

“He showed exactly in the last days that he comes closer and closer,” Röhl said. “The shot at West Brom was just a good save from the goalkeeper. Yesterday he had such a fantastic matchday minus one training. He scored so many goals yesterday (Tuesday). It was for me the wish to get him in to show fresh legs.

“And we know with Michael Smith we can bring someone into the game with a different profile and my idea today was to start with Ike and with Pato, to have different profiles, then in the end have another target player in front and another number 10 or eight with Stuey. And this worked well.”

Away from the perilous world of social media, there’s a feeling the Wednesday fan base is very much behind their star summer signing. His outing at Swansea was source for encouragement and should he contribute a vital goal or two between now and the end of the season, that faith will be rewarded when it matters most.