Legend Hirst calls for players to sort out Owls slide

The cult hero turned ardent fan has been as frustrated as anyone among the Owls’ support base at the club’s continued demise this season which has seen them fail to make a solid fist of bouncing straight back following last season’s relegation from the Championship.

Despite Milan Mandaric’s cash injection in the boardroom and on the pitch, and the appointment of former club stalwart Gary Megson in the dugout, Wednesday find themselves languishing in 16th place in League One, just seven points clear of what would be a catastrophic relegation to the fourth tier.

Poor form at Hillsborough has been the root cause, with only six wins managed in 16 games at S6 and no wins from their last six home league matches, a sequence stretching back three months.

Such poor form has prompted questions about the players suffering a fear factor when playing in front of their home crowd.

After the defeat to Notts County last Saturday, goalkeeper Nicky Weaver said that if an anxiety among the players about playing at home was the case, it would be down to the individuals to deal with it.

Hirst, who scored regularly in 11 years at the club, was far less understanding.

“If you don’t like playing in front of crowds you’re in the wrong game,” Hirst told the Yorkshire Post yesterday, in the wake of Tuesday night’s 4-1 reversal against Peterborough.

“If you want to play in front of crowds of 20 people rather than the 20,000 they get at Hillsborough, then go and play in a park on a Sunday morning.

“That’s not the type of player who wants to reach the top, it’s someone who should be playing down the divisions.

“I’m not saying they’re doing that but if they’re saying they’re finding it difficult then it’s a worry.

“I cannot understand any footballer who would be intimidated by a home crowd, especially at Hillsborough.”

Hirst believes the responsibility for the club plummeting down the table lies with the players.

Wednesday were second in December before a run of results in January that led to the dismissal of Alan Irvine.

Megson has struggled to arrest the slide since taking charge on February 4, and although encouraging wins at Carlisle and Oldham have demonstrated the potential within the squad, their failure to cash those in with victories on home soil has been a source of much frustration.

“After three goals on Tuesday night it was becoming a struggle for Wednesday fans, and they’re sick and tired of it,” continued Hirst, 43, who was forced to retire from the game in 2000 through injury.

“We were second in the league not so long ago – and that’s how the fans see it.

“They look at the direction we are going in and they are getting worried.

“Wednesday are in a relegation battle. Until we start winning games we’ll be in trouble.”

Megson has been equally unequivocal in his assessment of Wednesday’s predicament.

Damning of his players in recent weeks, he described his side’s defending on Tuesday night as “awful”.

“Performances like that in the first half at this football club are unacceptable,” said the manager.

“This is Sheffield Wednesday, it means a heck of a lot to me and our supporters, who are the best in the country by an absolute street.”

For his part, Hirst is confident Megson is the man to turn the club around.

They never crossed paths at Hillsborough – Megson leaving in 1984 and Hirst joining in 1986 – but the former’s reputation as a no-nonsense player and manager is well-known, and well respected.

“Sheffield Wednesday have been in need of a shake-up and Gary Megson is the man to do that,” said Hirst.

“He’s a straight talker, he’s already said what he’s felt after matches, whether that’s to the point where they’re not going to listen any more – who knows? Hopefully not.

“At the end of the day it’s down to the players. It’s my belief that Gary will get it right. He is certainly the man to get us out of this little trouble we’re rolling into. Gary knows what he wants to do; whether the players do is the big question.”

What Owls fans would give right now for David Hirst to be playing in his pomp.

The Barnsley-born No 9 grabbed 106 goals in 294 appearances for the Owls, scoring within minutes of making his home debut from the bench in August 1986, and also netting the equaliser in the FA Cup final against Arsenal in 1993.

After living and breathing Owls as a player, he now does so from the stands.

“Sheffield Wednesday fans are good, loyal fans, but if there’s no effort from the team they’ll turn on the players’ backs,” said Hirst, who is demanding commitment from those who don the blue and white stripes to help them away from trouble in the remaining 11 games this season. How do you get out of this mess? You dig in.

“People talk about crisis talks, sometimes you need players and management to get together and throw suggestions in the hat, get everything off their chest.

“Are we playing in a different way to how we’re being told? Should we be paying more attention to the manager?

“At the end of the day, the manager can only hope that’s enough, because no matter how much he tells them in the week, it’s out of his hands once there’s a ball to be kicked.

“At the end of the day players have got to go out and be accountable. They have got to go out there and concentrate on doing their job, and if they do that, things will turn.”