Wednesday were not good enough at start of season, admits Kirkland

Chris Kirkland believes Sheffield Wednesday can show how far they have come this season when they welcome Championship leaders Cardiff City to Hillsborough on Saturday.
Owls keeper Chris KirklandOwls keeper Chris Kirkland
Owls keeper Chris Kirkland

The former England goalkeeper has been one of Wednesday’s best players this season, but admits their early-season form after promotion from League One was “not good enough”.

A recent run of just three defeats in 15 games has pulled the Owls four points clear of relegation but Kirkland believes Wednesday cannot afford to relax just yet.

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“The thing we can’t afford to do is take our foot off the gas,” said the former Liverpool and Wigan No 1. “We have to keep doing what we have been doing and if we do that then hopefully we’ll be okay.

“We don’t want to make excuses. The truth is earlier in the season we weren’t good enough, we had a lot of new players and it takes time to gel, but the simple fact is that we didn’t do well enough.

“It’s not over yet, we’ve got a long way to go so we need to prepare as well as we can, train as hard as we can and also hope for a little bit of luck on the day.

“Over the last 15 or 16 games we’ve been pretty solid and it’s a good job as well because the teams at the bottom have been picking up points. Saturday’s game against Leicester was a great win and a must win because it’s so tight down there at the moment.

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“We knew if we went to Leicester with a game plan to keep it tight, then with the players we have got on the flanks and up front, we could cause a lot of problems.

“It was a great team effort, the staff prepared us well and it came off on the day.”

Doncaster Rovers’ League One game at Coventry City has been switched to Good Friday, March 29 (3pm).

The two clubs have agreed to bring the game forward 24 hours as Rovers play again on Easter Monday, April 1, when they face Swindon Town at the Keepmoat Stadium (12.15pm) live on Sky TV.

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Sheffield United winger Jordan Chapell has joined League Two outfit Torquay United on loan until the end of the season.

Stockport have signed Rotherham United winger Danny Schofield on loan until the end of the season.