Tom Lees has his eyes fixed on capturing greater prize with Sheffield Wednesday

Although they possess a surfeit of attacking talent, Sheffield Wednesday's play-off bid has been built around a solid defence. Leon Wobschall reports.
In command: Sheffield Wednesday central defender Tom Lees in action against Derby county. (Picture: Steve Ellis)In command: Sheffield Wednesday central defender Tom Lees in action against Derby county. (Picture: Steve Ellis)
In command: Sheffield Wednesday central defender Tom Lees in action against Derby county. (Picture: Steve Ellis)

FOR a centre-half who has always been conscientious about his craft, Sheffield Wednesday’s defensive statistics are not likely to be lost upon Tom Lees.

After being an integral part of an iron-clad Owls rearguard who equalled the club record of 17 clean sheets both last season and in 2014-15, Lees had harboured hopes that the current line-up could go one better in this campaign and make history.

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Following Saturday’s concession in a 2-1 victory over Derby County at Hillsborough, that will not now happen, although the Owls can still equal their feats of the past two seasons with shut-outs against Ipswich Town and Fulham, which would take their tally to 17 for three campaigns running.

Owls' Tom LeesOwls' Tom Lees
Owls' Tom Lees

But, for Lees, his eyes are fixed on the greater prize with Wednesday’s recent timing in terms of other aspects of their season being totally in sync.

The Owls recorded a fifth successive league win for the first time since April, 2007 on Saturday and also registered their first victory over bogey side Derby in 18 attempts.

Perhaps more importantly, it propelled Carlos Carvalhal’s side to the cusp of play-off participation after they leapfrogged Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town and Leeds United for the first time this season.

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The mathematics show that the Owls can seal a top-six berth with a game to spare if they triumph at Ipswich Town on Saturday – a considerable incentive for Lees and company.

Owls' Tom LeesOwls' Tom Lees
Owls' Tom Lees

He said: “It looked at one point of the season as if we would be cruising to it (clean sheet record). We have left it a bit late now and we will have to get two clean sheets to do that. But I would take getting into the play-offs over that, really.

“It would be nice to get the job done there (at Ipswich) and then we can start to focus on the play-offs and then the manager can do what he wants to do in the last game of the season. But we are not getting ahead of ourselves and we have got to secure it mathematically.

“We have got to go there fully focussed and full of concentration and make sure we do as you never know what is happening in the other games and you do not want an almost play-off type situation in the final game.”

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Whereas the form of county rivals Town and Leeds has been fitful of late, Wednesday have picked the perfect time to piece together their most consistent run of the campaign, while displaying a strong jaw in the process.

The pressure may be intense – and for some, intolerable – at this time of year, but Carvalhal’s side are staying strong, fortified by a desire to erase memories of their heart-breaking Spring pain of late last year when their promotion dreams were shattered at Wembley.

Admitting that the experience garnered by events last term are motivating the Owls, Lees added: “Last year is probably helping us. We have been all the way now and played under pressure.

“To be fair, we have been put under pressure over these last few weeks a lot of times and I think we have responded quite well.

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“You can look at the first half on Saturday and nobody could argue we were not playing pretty, pleasing-on-the-eye football.

“But we just didn’t create a final product and the second half was the complete opposite – it was not as good a performance and we did not play particularly well, but we scored two.

“At the moment, we are nicking goals, but we will take them.”