Sheffield Wednesday 3 QPR 0: Owls dismiss QPR with consummate ease to underscore Gray’s superb work

Last night’s convincing victory over promotion-chasing Queens Park Rangers means the Owls have taken 34 points from 20 Championship games since Gray succeeded Dave Jones at Hillsborough at the start of December.

And a glance at how the rest of the Championship has fared since then underlines just what an impressive haul that represents.

Only a quartet of clubs – Leicester City (42 points), Burnley (38), Derby (38) and Wigan Athletic (37) – can better Gray’s points tally.

Add in that Wednesday had just one win to their name when Jones was sacked and the magnitude of the rescue job that Wednesday’s unassuming head coach has performed becomes clear.

He has achieved this by fine-tuning the squad with a couple of key additions, most notably Leon Best and Oguchi Onyewu.

He has also made Wednesday much more pleasing on the eye by tapping into the potential of Kieran Lee and Caolan Lavery.

This much was evident against 10-man Rangers, who looked beaten from the moment Chris Maguire fired in a 33rd-minute penalty.

It was the fourth spot-kick Wednesday have been awarded in 10 games after not having one in the first half of the season, another sign that Gray has got his players asking more questions of opposing defences.

A sweeping Owls move brought last night’s penalty award from referee Paul Tierney.

The combination started with Liam Palmer, who played a delightful ball to Atdhe Nuhiu that suddenly left Rangers looking very vulnerable.

Nuhiu wasted no time in taking advantage with a lovely pass that sent Best racing clear.

Richard Dunne, caught out by the speed of the home side’s break, lumbered across and could only scythe down Best to hand the Owls a penalty and earn himself a red card.

Once the London side’s protests, perhaps inevitably led by the vociferous Joey Barton, had died down, Maguire showed tremendous poise to send Brian Murphy the wrong way from the spot.

Once ahead, Gray’s men were transformed as they ripped into Rangers for the rest of the night, Maguire heading inches wide from Palmer’s cross.

Lavery was the next to open up the visitors’ defence with a tricky run that ended with his cross evading Murphy’s slow dive and Hill needing to come to his goalkeeper’s rescue with a last-ditch clearance.

Murphy did, at least, atone in stoppage time at the end of the first half with a stunning save to keep out a bullet header from Nuhiu.

Rangers, who had wasted the game’s first clear-cut opening when Clint Hill headed wide a quickly-taken free-kick by Barton, were relieved to hear the half-time whistle.

It proved, however, to be merely a brief respite for Rangers, who fell further behind six minutes after the restart.

Best was the goalscorer, the loanee from Blackburn Rovers firing in from 10 yards out.

But it was Onyewu who deserves just as much credit for how he strolled out of defence before rolling a pin-point pass to Best, who turned his man before beating Brian Murphy.

The game was up for Rangers, who conceded a third when Lewis Buxton bamboozled Barton a la Gazza in Euro ‘96, Barton unwittingly playing the role of Colin Hendry.

Buxton’s first goal since October, 2011, capped a fine win that sent Wednesday leapfrogging Leeds United and Huddersfield Town in a mid-table that is cluttered with Yorkshire clubs. More importantly, the contemptuous manner in which Harry Redknapp’s expensively-assembled side were dispatched underlined Gray’s fine work.

Sheffield Wednesday: Martinez; Buxton, Loovens, Onyewu, Helan; Maguire (Afobe 83), Lee, Palmer, Lavery (Prutton 83); Niuhu, Best (J Johnson 73). Substitutes (not used): Davies, Coke, Mattock, Llera.

Queens Park Rangers: Murphy; Hughes, Onuoha, Dunne, Hill; Barton, Henry (Krancjar 46), Bartin; O’Neill (Carroll 82), Morrison, Hoilett (Yun 46); Zamora. Substitutes (not used): Lennox, Keane, Benayoun, Maiga.

Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire).