Rotherham United v Sheffield Wednesday: Missing links have held us back, says Carlos Carvalhal
The Owls head to relegated Rotherham United tonight looking to breathe fresh life into a promotion challenge that has been flagging in recent weeks.
A run of just one win in seven games has led to Wednesday falling out of the top six and cranked up the pressure on a club that has spent big in an attempt to reach the Premier League.
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Hide AdCarvalhal, as head coach, has come in for criticism from some sections of the Hillsborough support – something that has led to the Portuguese deciding to step away from social media for the past two or so months.
The Owls’ chief, though, remains adamant his side will turn things around and earn a second tilt at the play-offs in as many seasons.
“Everyone knows how much I want to win,” said Carvalhal, “and how I am emotionally connected with Sheffield Wednesday.
“Expectation is very high and we are trying to do our very best. Against Rotherham, I believe we can take a step forward.”
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Hide AdCarvalhal had stints coaching in Turkey, Greece and his native Portugal before arriving at Hillsborough during the summer of 2015. The 51-year-old points to a spell at Sporting Lisbon as justification for why Wednesday’s current slump in form will not unsettle him.
He added: “In my career, I have been in situations that are 1,000 times more pressure than this. That was at Sporting.
“I arrived in the November and the club was in eighth place. Sporting expect to be champions and must be in either first or second (place), but we were far away.
“Everyone was shouting about this. The press is very aggressive in Portugal, there are three daily sports papers and they all shout the news. Then, there is the radio.
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Hide Ad“There is big pressure from the fans, who throw stones and so on. This weekend, one fan (in Portugal) kicked a referee. That was in amateur football. Unbelievable, and that should not happen.
“This is a totally different environment and, with my experience, I know our focus has to be on giving the players confidence.
“My pressure comes from myself and the emotional connection I have with the players, the chairman, the club and the fans. I say to myself all the time, ‘What can we do better?’
“What happens outside is not related. I live with this very well and I am very optimistic.”
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Hide AdWednesday hope to welcome back top scorer Fernando Forestieri either tonight or on Saturday at home to Newcastle United. Ross Wallace is also likely to be available again.
There can be little doubt that injuries to key players have affected the Owls this term.
For Carvalhal, this has meant a need to adapt a playing style that last term was much more free-flowing and pleasing on the eye than has been the case this time around.
He said: “Some people ask me on the streets or at the supermarket, ‘Why have we changed the style a little bit since last season?’
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Hide Ad“It is very easy to reply. When we look at the team that played in the play-offs, this season we have played a long time without Kieran Lee, Ross Wallace, Sam Hutchinson, Tom Lees, Gary Hooper and Forestieri.
“These players have been out a lot of the time. With different players, you can play the same football. But we have been missing the link players, the ones that connect parts of the team.
“Kieran links the midfield with the attack, so does Gary Hooper, and Forestieri, he is a linker.
“We need those players to play the football I like. It is not possible to do that without them, which is why we have tried to be more compact.
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Hide Ad“We have changed things because of the circumstances, not because we wanted to. I look at it like when you cook a meal and, in the beginning, you have tomatoes, potatoes, rice, fish and whatever else.
“You then want to taste something more, so you buy a little more potatoes and rice and so on. But when the fish is missing, all you have left is the rice and potatoes.
“For the team, you need the fishes – even if the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rice are good.
“You can be a very good cook, but without the fish then it is totally different. Without our link players, we are different.”
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Hide AdCarvalhal’s cooking analogy may not be to everyone’s taste, but there is little doubt that the prospect of a thrilling race for the play-offs is a mouthwatering one.
Most eyes are on Wednesday and Fulham either side of the dotted line in the Championship table. Being on the right side will extend a club’s season beyond May 7, but the Owls chief added: “It is not just two teams. The teams above us are not guaranteed their position, and those below, they are not out of the fight.
“We can achieve a better position if we start to play better football and recover our players. Of course, if we don’t start winning then those below will have a chance. We are optimistic we can go up the positions in the table.”
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