Mercurial Johnson eager to produce regular magic

The performing artist this time was Sheffield Wednesday’s mercurial wingman Jermaine Johnson, who delivered a majestic performance which hit all the right notes with the Owls faithful as Dave Jones’s troops started out their Championship adventure on home soil with a 3-2 victory over Birmingham City, a scoreline which somewhat flattered the Midlanders.

A last-minute goal from the 32-year-old, who penned a one-year contract extension with the Owls in July, gilded a man-of-the-match display on an evening when he looked as close to unplayable as it gets.

The trick is maintaining his form levels over a consistent period as Johnson – who can look a world-beater on his day but low-key the next – well knows. But the portents for 2012-13 look pretty encouraging.

Jones has already spoken about the Jamaican’s ‘new lease of life’ this season with coaching staff having worked on one or two things in pre-season with him to maximise his performance and while he remains a work in progress in some areas – most notably his final ball at times with Jones offering a mild ticking off following last weekend’s curtain-raiser at Derby – the penny is starting to drop.

Johnson, who joined Wednesday back in January, 2007, from Bradford City, said: “To be honest, I don’t think people realise this – but this is my first season in three where I haven’t started the season injured. This season I’ve started well and I’m feeling really fit.

“I am feeling really good at the moment. On Tuesday, I went out and felt I could get two or three goals in that game. I just need to keep confidence in every game in the same way and try to get goals.

“Pre-season went really well for me and that’s really helped me. This is the hardest season for me in terms of competition and I think that’s what is also motivating me to do well on the pitch.

“I don’t want to lose my place and I just need to focus and work on my fitness and everything else will come behind it.

“It was a really good goal on Tuesday. I saw the ball just running through and knew I could get a good touch and then just kept running and looked for a gap in the side and shot and it went in and that was great for me. I didn’t like the celebration though, I felt as if I was going to fall. Miguel (Llera) picked me up to celebrate, but it was okay and I survived.”

And on Jones’s comments about his final ball last weekend, he quipped: “I saw it on Twitter. He said I was lucky to be on the pitch. To be honest, I get ahead of myself with my passing and do try to go all the way for myself. On the pitch, it seems right, but when I get off the pitch, it’s then I think it’s wrong. I need to pick my head up more and look for other players in better spaces than me.”

Whisper it gently, but momentum is starting to generate for the first time in a fair few years at Hillsborough on the back of the Owls’ promotion to the Championship and an impressive start to second-tier life.

Boss Jones, whose upwardly-mobile side welcome Millwall to S6 this afternoon, is yet to taste defeat since taking over at the start of March with the Liverpudlian rating the Owls’ first-half display against Blues in midweek as the best Wednesday have produced since his arrival.

While the business end of last season was all about results, first and foremost, Wednesday are also starting to win points for artistic merit – with the offensive threat posed by the likes of Johnson, Michail Antonio and Spanish newcomer Rodri hinting that they could be a handful for many Championship defences this term, something Derby County will testify after the Owls’ turbo-charged second half last weekend. Ditto Birmingham.

Wednesdayites showed their appreciation with a generous reception for their heroes’ efforts on Tuesday night and will be salivating at the prospect of more of the same against the Lions and in the forthcoming Capital One Cup clash with Fulham next week – with Hillsborough becoming a fun place to go.

Johnson, one of a handful of survivors from the Brian Laws regime, said: “I’ve been here a long time now and this is one of the best teams I’ve been with so far. I think everyone in the team has confidence and wants to win for the club. There’s a good chance for us to do well this year.

“We’re playing more football now and I think that’s making us much better. We used to just bang the ball up front to the centre forwards, whereas now we’re not scared of keeping it.”