Sheffield Wednesday 2 Wycombe Wanderers 0: Ambitious Jones sets sights on building for future

That was the message from manager Dave Jones after Sheffield Wednesday returned to the Championship this weekend.

Thousands of emotional home supporters spilled onto the pitch at Hillsborough at the end of a game that sealed the club’s promotion.

Yet amid the euphoria and the celebration, which saw several players being carried shoulder high by the masses, Jones kept his feet firmly on the floor.

The Owls are one of the biggest clubs outside the Premier League – and the attendance of 38,082 on Saturday was the biggest outside the top-flight this season.

Jones has still to taste defeat since taking over as manager 13 games ago and this promotion will taste even sweeter because it comes at the expense of Sheffield United – who were four points clear in second spot just two weeks ago.

But anyone thinking the Owls are simply going to stroll to another promotion next season has been urged to think again.

It is 12 years since they waved farewell to the top flight and the current squad will need improvement this summer in order to keep moving forward.

“This club deserves to be in the Premiership – it’s whether we can get a team that deserves it,” said Jones. “I have told the chairman that dreams do come true but miracles might take a little bit longer.

“It has all the ticks in the boxes. The right infrastructure, the right backing, and the right fanbase. The one tick it hasn’t got at the moment is the team.

“The hard work will start again this week when I will be sitting down with the staff, the chairman, and the chief executive for three days,” he said. “ We will try to find players, talk to players, and everything else that goes with it.

“But we will go from feelings of elation to people being deflated because some will go. That’s the way football is. It’s a dog-eat-dog life. You have good emotions and then, three days later, if you leave, you have a bad emotion.”

Both Michail Antonio and Nile Ranger, who scored Wednesday’s goals against Wycombe, are on loan from Reading and Newcastle United, respectively. Defender Danny Batth and winger Keith Treacy are on loan from Wolves and Burnley.

“It will be the decision of the other clubs whether they stay or go,” said Jones. “We will sit down over the next couple of days and there will also be a retained list.”

The party started before kick-off on Saturday with a sea of inflatable items including beachballs, rubber rings, lilos, and even a few paddling pools bouncing around the Kop.

Wycombe’s small group of fans had been relocated to the north west corner stand which freed up the whole of the Leppings Lane end for Wednesday-ites.

With over 38,000 inside Hillsborough, the stadium was rocking as the two sides walked out into a cauldron of noise.

An early goal would have settled any home nerves but Wycombe initially provided stubborn resistance.

Jose Semedo shot over the bar and defender Miguel Llera was twice denied by goalkeeper Nikki Bull. But Wednesday’s afternoon exploded into life in the space of two stunning first-half minutes.

In a matter of moments, both games involving the Steel City clubs had swung Wednesday’s way.

Antonio broke the deadlock at Hillsborough while, down in Devon, where the Blades were playing Exeter, Alan Gow scored for the home side.

Never before will an Exeter goal have sparked such celebration or noise as it did in Sheffield 6.

The Wednesday-ites jumped for joy, and chants of ‘This City is Ours’ echoed from all sides of the ground.

Antonio, who had also been the hero in Wednesday’s last home game with a stoppage-time winner, surged into the area and bundled the ball home.

The Owls had a second ‘goal’ disallowed for offside against Ranger but television replays proved it should have stood.

News that James Beattie had been sent off for the Blades offered even greater reason for optimism.

And although the 10 men of United scored either side of the interval, it failed to dampen the mood at Hillsborough.

The celebrations were soon back in full swing when Ranger headed home a Chris Lines free-kick.

Owls fans showed their appreciation to Mandaric just before the hour mark, turning to the director’s box and hailing his work as chairman. Mandaric duly repaid the compliment by rising to applaud all four sides of the ground.

It was a bold move to sack Gary Megson two months ago, especially just days after victory in a Steel City derby, but results since have vindicated the decision.

Megson has refused to speak to Jones since losing his job and, among Wednesday supporters, is likely to be on his own when holding back on the congratulations.

“I tried to speak to Gary but he didn’t want to speak to me so that’s fine,” shrugged Jones. “He got the ball rolling and I have finished it. But that’s the life of a football manager.

“I have got no animosity towards anybody,” he added. “If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else doing this job.

“But I am pleased for the chairman – and I am not just saying that because he pays my wages – I am pleased because he made a big call and I have repaid him.”

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Sheffield Wednesday: Bywater; Buxton, Batth, Llera, Beevers; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, Treacy (J.Johnson 78); Ranger (Lowe 88), Madine. Unused substitutes: Weaver, R.Jones, Prutton.

Wycombe Wanderers: Bull; McCoy, Doherty, Laing, Basey (Dunne 13); Ainsworth, Lewis, Eastmond, Bloomfield; Beavon, McClure,. Unused substitutes: Ingram, Kewley-Graham, Scowen, McNamee.