Megson revels in sweetest moment of victory

Chairman Milan Mandaric was tipped to wield the axe if the Owls suffered a fifth consecutive defeat but a Chris O’Grady goal secured three points and lifted the pressure at Hillsborough

The Owls are now only two points adrift of the Blades, who remain second in the League One table, but have played two games more.

Blades supporters had taunted Megson, a lifelong Owls supporter, with chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ during the game.

However, the man labelled ‘Ginger Mourinho’ by Wednesday-ites, had the last laugh and celebrated on the pitch at the end of a nail-biting 90 minutes.

“I have been doing this a long time and had results at other clubs which were hugely important,” he reflected.

“Playing Crystal Palace at West Brom and knowing a win takes you into the Premiership, keeping Bolton Wanderers up – there have been some really big occasions – but no game has ever meant more to me than beating Sheffield United in a derby game.

“It’s a feeling I have not experienced before – beating United. I have done it at other clubs, notably West Brom, but I have never done it with Wednesday and that’s why it means a lot more.”

Megson insisted that he never felt his future was at stake yesterday and also refused to comment on reports that he has lodged a complaint with the League Managers’ Association about the club searching for a replacement.

A number of out of work managers including Dave Jones and Paul Ince have been linked with the job as a result of a meeting last week between Megson and Mandaric, a chairman who has never been slow to make changes when results start to slide.

Asked if this victory was the perfect response to the doubters, Megson said: “There is no response because there wasn’t a question.

“It’s about the players and the supporters and that has to be the focus.

“I push these people like they have probably never been pushed in their careers. We push and push and drive and a lot of the players are playing at the highest levels of their careers.

“We have just played a team with 10 players who have played Premier League football and we have turned them over.

“There is a great deal of honesty and pride in their performance and winning games. Whether that has anything to do with what’s gone on off the pitch, I don’t know? But they certainly do know – from the way I am – how much it means to me as a Sheffielder to win this game.

“It was a fantastic performance from us in terms of how to play a derby,” he reflected. “The second half was fantastic – not in terms of passing and creating like maybe Barcelona could do – but in terms of drive and desire and passion and running and some good football.

“This strengthens our play-off push by three points and we will see where it takes us now,” he added. “If doing well means we can get into the top two, great, but there are a lot of clubs like Charlton, Huddersfield and Sheffield United who have had a right kick of the ball in terms of the money they have spent and had a go.

“We are where we are and I’m not saying we are trying to get into the play-offs, or saying we are going for a second spot.

“We are trying to win every game. It’s a ‘do-able’ but you mustn’t set your targets so far forward that it becomes too much of an ask. Our only target now has to be going to Rochdale next weekend and trying to beat them.”

Striker O’Grady led Wednesday’s players over to Megson to celebrate after hitting the winner 17 minutes from the end of the game.

Aftewards, he admitted that the gesture was a show of unity to the under-pressure manager.

“It showed that we are all together,” said O’Grady. “We have had a bad little period but we are all stronger than that.

“Speculation is predictable these days, some clubs are swapping managers but we need to rise above that. That doesn’t work.

“It has made us even more determined to be successful,” O’Grady added.

Blades manager Danny Wilson, meanwhile, admitted that he was bitterly disappointed to lose against his club’s biggest rivals.

Former Owls manager Wilson had been returning to Hillsborough for the first time since becoming Blades manager last summer and his side had been firm favourites to win following an impressive run of results.

A crowd of 36,364 packed into Hillsborough with another 9,000 who were unable to get tickets watching a beamback across the city at Bramall Lane.

“We are bitterly disappointed because they always say this game is one for the fans – but it doesn’t affect us in terms of our focus,” said Wilson.

“The bigger picture is that we are still in a very strong position and we want to try and endorse that now.

“We have a tough game against Scunthorpe on Wednesday night and we have to try and get back to winning ways,” he added. “It was as tight as we expected it to be and a typical derby game.”

Wilson insisted that his side should have been awarded a penalty in the first half but still praised the performance of referee Mark Halsey.