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Irvine looks to keep control of Sheffield Wednesday's destiny
SHEFFIELD Wednesday manager Alan Irvine believes the club's future rests in their own hands and does not intend relying on favours.
The Owls were beaten 1-0 by high-flying West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night and remain in the Championship's relegation zone on goal difference.
With 11 games to play, Irvine is adamant that 53 points will be enough to avoid the drop and has set a target of five more wins for survival.
"It doesnt really matter what everyone else is doing," he said. "If we win five more games we will be fine.
"And I am not really too concerned about what is happening in the table," he added. "I am simply focusing on us winning enough games – as I have done since I got the job."
The Owls would have been further adrift of safety if nearest rivals Crystal Palace had not lost to Bristol City.
Palace have a game in hand and a far better goal difference at this stage but the Owls still control their own destiny because the two sides meet at Hillsborough on the final day of the season.
While Plymouth Argyle and Peterborough United remain in deep trouble at the bottom of the table, only two points separate the next four clubs; Wednesday, Palace, Scunthorpe United, and Watford.
Only a 79th-minute goal from Robert Koren denied Wednesday a point against West Brom on Tuesday night and Irvine was far from unhappy with his side's performance.
"I can't criticise the players because they were terrific in the way they went about things," he said. "In the first half, I thought we had terrific shape and that provided a platform to give them problems.
"In the second half, we were very resilient, determined, and showed good character and people did their jobs.
"If we go about our jobs like that in every game between now and the end of the season we will be fine."
After six wins and six defeats in Irvine's first 12 games as manager, fourth-placed Swansea City are next on the agenda for the Owls.
Striker Marcus Tudgay was a late withdrawal at The Hawthorns due to illness but Irvine is optimistic that he will be available for the trip to The Liberty Stadium.
"You always dread the physio phoning on the day of the game and he rang about 12 o' clock to say that Marcus was ill, had been up all night, and had been sick," he said.
"That changed things because we had done our work with Marcus in the team.
"Hopefully, it's just a 24-hour thing and Marcus will be okay for the weekend."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Friday 10 February 2012
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