Leeds United 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1: Varney on song as message to keep calm does trick

Some coolly-delivered and succinct utterances from music lover McDermott – no mean guitar player and singer if anyone cares to check out his rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door on You Tube – hit the right notes with the Whites forward and his team-mates, who all but banished their relegation concerns with a sweet victory over Wednesday.

A spot of tactical tinkering which saw Varney handed a central attacking brief for the final half-hour also proved a master stroke, as did the interval introduction of El-Hadji Diouf, but it was McDermott’s interval speech which resonated most, according to the former Portsmouth player.

It may have been Varney who was the hero after heading in two second-half goals in the space of six minutes – his 63th-minute equaliser being instantly awarded after bouncing off the underside of the bar and over the line.

But, ultimately, it was the manner of United’s reaction to some first-half adversity and their considered football which will have left the most lasting impression on the home faithful, whose chant heralding their new manager just after the final whistle forged an immediate bond.

Varney, who spent two separate loan spells earlier in his career at Wednesday, who tumbled to just their second league defeat on their travels since early December, said: “The gaffer gave a good speech at half-time telling us to be positive and have no fear and that really showed.

“It showed a lot about the bloke. He basically came in on Friday afternoon and stood in the dug-out. Most managers would have looked on and probably started (in the dug-out) on Tuesday.

“To see someone there telling us to ‘pass, pass, pass’ really worked for us and we are just delighted to get over the line. We felt we had won the cup, to be honest, after a lot of disappointment and bad results.

“You would like to think we are okay now and we can start relaxing and play a bit of football.”

Specifically on McDermott’s words of wisdom, he added: “It is known that he is a very mild-mannered man and that helps sometimes. I was shouting my head off at half-time, just trying to get the lads going again. But sometimes you do not need that.

“That is what we have probably not had; a cool head just telling us to calm down and to play our football and enjoy it.

“The game was played at an unbelievable pace and to have a gaffer who was cool, calm and collected really helped. For a manager to say ‘have no fear’ is music to my ears.

“I felt relaxed coming out for the second half like it was 0-0. It was a great chat and it helped with Dioufy coming on as well.

“Under the old gaffer, we were just trying to win games and in a bit of a rut and doing everything we could to get out of it. But we probably got too hooked up in that idea of getting the ball forward as quick as we could.”

While Leeds ended their alarming four-match losing sequence and slide towards the drop zone, a reality check was provided for Wednesday supporters, buoyant after victories over Millwall and Blackburn Rovers and enjoying considerable mirth at bitter rivals Sheffield United’s expense following the Blades’ decision to sack Danny Wilson.

All had looked set fair after the opening 45 minutes, with Jermaine Johnson’s coolly-taken opener handing them the interval advantage with the hosts’ run without a goal in the first half of Championship games stretching to 18 matches – their last one coming in the 4-2 loss to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.

But the Owls, not helped by losing their goalscorer and most potent attacking outlet due to a knock to his knee early in the second half, lost their way on the restart with two lapses in concentration costing them dear by virtue of two headers from the unmarked Varney.

Admitting the Owls were the architects of their own downfall, loan midfielder Stuart Holden, restored to the starting line-up at Elland Road, rued: “At the start of the second half, we stopped playing a little bit and invited on too much pressure and they built a bit of momentum.

“Coming in at 1-0 at the end of the first half was pretty encouraging, especially with some of the stuff we played. But we did not build on that; we almost did not want half-time to come because we wanted to keep going.

“The coaches said at half-time to play the game at our tempo. But in the second half, we did not do that and that is where it went wrong.”

The decisive moment of a largely tepid first period saw Jermaine Johnson seize on defensive dithering to lob a 27th-minute opener over the stranded Paddy Kenny, nipping in front of captain-for-the-day Stephen Warnock after Jeremy Helan headed on Chris Kirkland’s long punt, unchallenged.

Pre-match calls for supporters not to chant any vile obscenities after October’s shameful evening at Hillsborough sadly were not heeded by a number in the home stands, who again targeted Owls chief David Jones, serving the first match of a two-game touchline ban and absent from the dug-out.

On the restart, the home songs, thankfully, were more aimed at supporting their team, with the Kop ready to applaud a leveller early in the second half, only for Steve Morison to dally when through on goal with Reda Johnson making a last-ditch challenge.

The pressure continued from the rejuvenated hosts with Ross McCormack going close before Varney’s deadly double – two exquisite headers following impressive assists from the Scot as he and second-half substitute Diouf pulled the strings consummately.

The Owls had their moments with a brilliant swivelled volley from Steve Howard hitting the post and Reda Johnson almost scrambling home from close range, but it was United’s day and a first win in seven games.