Ready for battle of the high-flying birds

Compared to the impact made by Keith Curle, however, the Owls chief still has some way to go to match the former Sheffield United defender.

Since being appointed by Notts County a little under a month ago, the 48-year-old has led the Midlands club on to a barnstorming run of form that has seen a team that seemed destined for a mid-table finish transformed into genuine promotion challengers.

A haul of 15 points from six games has propelled the Magpies from 11th to sixth, making today’s visit to Meadow Lane a huge test for Wednesday.

Jones admits taking over a new club midway through a season can be difficult due to not being able to implement too many changes, something that makes the impact made by both the Owls chief and Curle in recent weeks all the more impressive.

The Wednesday manager said: “It is always difficult to come to a club during a season. It doesn’t matter whether they have been doing good, bad or indifferent.

“Setting down what you actually want to do is always difficult. It is more a case of just tweaking things as you go along and, hopefully, you get where you want to go and then come the summer time you can start afresh.

“I am slowly starting to change things around the training ground and, hopefully, that will benefit us in the future.”

Jermaine Johnson will again not feature today for Wednesday but Jones has been heartened by the Jamaican winger’s recovery from injury being well ahead of schedule.