Xisco weighs up potential Sheffield Wednesday change as he eyes Owls improvement

Wednesday were beaten 4-2 by Hull City on Saturday as their rough start to the 2023/24 season continued, and more worrying than the result was the lack of possession and lack of chances that were forged out by the Owls at the MKM Stadium.

Juan Delgado and Michael Smith scored their only two shots on target, like Lee Gregory scored their only shot on target v Southampton, and their manager insists that he’s happy with the output of their players in terms of work ethic – though he knows that results need to improve.

“I’m very happy with the team,” he told The Star. “Because always they give 100% in the situations, but am I disappointed about the result? Of course. Are we disappointed about the second half? Of course. This is not our team, this is not what I want. But we’re in this moment - we had it for 45 minutes. If I go back two weeks we wouldn’t have had it for five minutes in the intensity and duels and these kinds of things.

“You can focus on one of two things - you can focus on what we need, or what we are improving. Everybody can decide which is better, and I choose to look at what we are improving and every day our team is getting better and better.”

The Owls went into the half time break at 1-1 having limited Hull to any real chances of note, however things took a turn in the second stanza, and after pointing out their lack of success in in-game duels Xisco said that they might need to look at working with a back five in order to stop goals like those of Ozan Tufan’s after the break being scored.

“Maybe we need to change the system,” the Wednesday boss went on to say. “Because maybe we don’t have a solid situation with a back four and we need to starting working for a back five… Always we need to be thinking about the situation and how we can improve it - but the first thing is to close the situation in front of our goal, because if they attack your central channels in the Championship it’s very dangerous.”

Wednesday are one of four clubs in the second tier yet to pick up a point after two games alongside Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town and Sunderland, and the manager will be desperate for that to change when Preston North End come to Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.