Sheffield Wednesday 3 Bournemouth 0: Wednesday hit goals trail early to pick off Cherries

Tames, 20, has scored 11 goals this season for the struggling Evo-Stick First Division North side including a hat-trick this month against Tranmere Rovers in the Liverpool Senior Cup.

If a deal materialises, it will be Jones’s first foray into the transfer market since his arrival at Hillsborough 10 days ago.

The Owls have won two games out of two under Jones and both have been by three-goal margins.

Having equalled their biggest win of the season against Bury last Tuesday, the Owls went goal crazy inside the first 10 minutes against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Home supporters were left rubbing their eyes in disbelief as goals from Danny Batth, Rob Jones and Michail Antonio established a sensational 3-0 lead.

Defender Batth started the avalanche – turning in a low cross from Antonio after four minutes.

Jones scored four minutes later from a Chris Lines corner and Antonio smashed in number three after surging past two Bournemouth defenders.

It was cruel on Bournemouth who had threatened to take the lead after just two minutes when Steven Gregory’s shot deflected wide off Donal McDermott.

Yet Lee Bradbury’s side recovered from the setback and began to carve out opportunities.

Indeed, by the interval, the visitors might easily have been back on level terms.

Striker Wesley Thomas struck a post and tested Stephen Bywater while winger Wes Fogden narrowly failed to convert a far-post cross and also had a shot blocked by the Owls goalkeeper.

The start of the second half was equally frustrating from an Owls perspective with passes going astray and Bournemouth continuing to look dangerous.

Just beyond the hour, the Owls threatened to come back to life.

Ryan Lowe’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and his follow-up was cleared by Simon Francis with Mike Jones inches away from forcing the ball over the line.

But the longer the game went on, the less likely it became that Bournemouth would be get back into it.

There was no real need for the Owls to press the issue and the game began to lose its edge.

Defender Miles Addison spurned an easy opportunity to score a consolation at the end when his close-range header struck Bywater on the legs.

Manager Jones acknowledged the need for improvement after the game but has been delighted with the attitude and commitment of his players. The Owls remain just a point behind second-placed Sheffield United.

“I have had nothing but a fantastic response from everybody in the club,” he said. “They are getting to know me as much as I am getting to know them and I have a standard that I expect to be maintained win, lose, or draw.

“Everything I am asking of them, they are trying. We tried to keep the ball but in the wrong areas and we caused ourselves one or two problems.

“But I can’t fault them for their efforts and what they were trying to do,” he stressed. “I think we just went a bit ‘tricky flicky’ rather than just keeping the ball and making them work harder.

“So there’s a lesson to be learned – even after a good win – because I think there are things we could have done better.”

After watching his new team play three times in his first week, Jones now has the opportunity to spend a week on the training ground ahead of a tough looking trip to Notts County.

“I am really looking forward to this week because I have spent most of the time driving up and down the motorway,” he said.

“I will be at them every day of the week but for all the right reasons. I have seen three games at close hand, I’m back into it, and there is so much more we can do.

“It’s been a little bit difficult for me because I am trying to put everything into place quickly and a lot of the time you are telling them what to do rather than showing them because you can’t get on the training ground.

“But I think I have come into a dressing room where they want to listen and learn,” he revealed.

“And their work rate is fantastic.

“My old boss used to say it’s like getting a diamond – and the more you polish it, the better it becomes if it hasn’t got a flaw.

“That’s what we are trying to do in such a short space of time. But they are listening.

“Things won’t always come off but, I will give them credit, they go for it again.

“That’s great. If it doesn’t come off, try it again.

“It’s not that it was the ‘wrong thing’ to do – just the execution was wrong. It’s right the ball, be brave enough. You can’t knock that. They need to do it more.”

Assistant manager Terry Burton is due to return to work today after missing the Bournemouth game due to illness.

Winger Antonio is an early doubt for the Notts County game after twisting an ankle on Saturday.

Jones also revealed that captain Rob Jones had shrugged off a sickness bug to play the full 90 minutes, score a goal, and help his side keep a clean sheet.