Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United: Marvin Johnson on responsibility Owls leaders have to 'matchwinners'

But Sheffield Wednesday's incredible transformation once he got his feet under the Hillsborough manager's office table is not just down to the German and his coaching staff.

Likewise, with two exciting wingers likely to line up against Leeds United on Friday – as Ian Poveda is ineligible because he is on loan from the Whites, Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama may well be in tandem – and an in-form striker in Ike Ugbo, there will be much attention on the exciting young additions made this season.

But one of the Owls' strengths has long been a dressing room populated by strong, experienced leaders like Barry Bannan (passed fit after his midweek injury), vice-captain Liam Palmer, Will Vaulks, the injured Callum Paterson and Josh Windass, plus Marvin Johnson – few of them shy about putting their two penn'orth in and taking the coaches out of the equation when needs be.

Johnson feels the pressures that come with that and loves it.

For reasons which were never quite clear, Xisco Munoz banished the versatile 33-year-old but his managerial successor Rohl was very quick to restore Johnson’s football and dressing-room influence.

"The older lads need to set the standard," argues Johnson. "There's a few boys have come from abroad (in the summer) and it's not always easy to settle into English football straight away.

"There's even more pressure on us boys who have been here to set the standard and make sure they're up there as well.

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"Young lads want to impress coming to this league for the first time, they want to show what they're capable of but the only thing you can do is perform yourself and almost set the standards.

"The manager can only prepare you for the week and set you up on the day. Once you're on the pitch there's only so much information he can pass on. Half the time you can't hear what anybody's saying to you.

"So when we go on the pitch it's up to us to take that information and go and perform."

The spirit of a dressing room is never more apparent than when things are going badly, and the Owls' old guard have seen their fair share of bad times at Hillsborough.

Last season they went on a 23-match unbeaten run in League One, only to miss automatic promotion, then go out of the play-offs at the semi-final stage after losing the first leg 4-0 at Peterborough United.

That was how it was supposed to pan out, anyway, but the dressing-room leaders pulled together, Posh were beaten 5-1 in the second leg at Hillsborough, then on penalties, and Barnsley were defeated in the last seconds of extra time at the Wembley play-off final.

So being written off again, after six points from the first 17 games of the season, fuels rather than discourages them.

A 4-0 defeat at relegation rivals Huddersfield Town, who did not score until the 68th minute, was a turning point, reflects Johnson. The only league game they have failed to win since was a 2-0 defeat at leaders Leicester City.

"It probably was a good moment against the wrong opposition," he argues. "That was going to happen, it happens in football all the time when you're on a good run, just look at the top teams even now.

"It was a good reset at the right time, just the wrong opposition – although they're still in and around it (the Terriers will drop into the relegation zone if Wednesday avoid defeat on Friday night).

"From there we've bounced back and been even better.

"The dressing room is just positive. Even if you see players on the pitch having arguments, it's never bad blood, it's always positive. When we get back into the dressing room it's positive.

"We look back at the games we've won and we don't look too much at the table but considering we've got 11 wins now, no one would have thought we would get that through the whole season at one stage.

"Everything against us is probably what's helping us push forward.

"For the whole season we've been playing for something. In a lot of leagues teams get into mid-table and they're not fighting for the play-offs or to stay up and they end the last couple of months of the season just coasting through it but we've always had an objective, a focus.

"When the gaffer came in, he made it believable."

Even a point will take the Owls out of the bottom three, at least until Saturday afternoon. Leeds have only dropped two in 2024 but have looked a tad leggy in their last two games. Johnson insists they are ready for them.

"We're at home and we'll always back ourselves at home,” he says. “Even the games we have lost at home we've always performed and had a lot of chances.

"Leeds are a very good side but we'll back ourselves and we're looking forward to a great game."