It was in my stars to face Owls
CARLOS CARVALHAL believes it was his destiny to return to Hillsborough to show Sheffield Wednesday just what they are missing.
The Portuguese manager takes his Swansea side back to the Steel City 55 days after his sacking by Wednesday on Christmas Eve.
And Carvalhal is ready to show the Owls their loss has been Swansea’s gain as he aims to earn his new club a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1964.
“It was destiny when I saw the draw,” said Carvalhal. “In that moment I was more worried about the upcoming games because of our position in the Premier League.
“But I have started thinking about the game now and we’re focused on it. I thought it was very strange but it’s our destiny.
“I will be back home but after I won’t talk about that time again once the game is behind us.
“You can’t mix personal things with professional things. You have to be a certain way before the game and then you can be different after. We will do our very best to win the game and this thinking about.”
Carvalhal was relieved of his duties with Wednesday lying 15th in the Championship, but new manager Jos Luhukay has failed to spark an upturn in fortunes.
In that time Carvalhal has managed to lift Swansea off the foot of the Premier League table with 14 points from seven matches.
The amazing turnaround in the Swans’ form has taken their relegation rivals by surprise, but Carvalhal revealed he has had plenty of time to think about his revolution, having first been approached about taking on the job after Garry Monk was dismissed there in 2015.
“I talked to the chairman at that time,” said Carvalhal. “I think he liked our talk and my ideas but there was not an opportunity at that time to come.
“I had the feeling, and I think the chairman had the same one, that we could work together in the future. The style of play and the way that we managed the is all am club, the way that we talked with the press. I know that they were analysing a lot of things they liked and I’m glad I am here now.”
His replacement Luhukay’s record with the Owls may not stand comparison to Carvalhal’s but George Boyd is backing team-mate Lucas Joao to use the memory of his frustration during the Portuguese’s reign to make that irrelevant. Joao was Carvalhal’s first signing at Wednesday three years ago. But having been given the cold shoulder, the striker has been reborn under Luhukay. And Boyd believes he will love nothing more than dumping Carvalhal and Swansea out of the cup. Midfielder Boyd said: “Lucas didn’t play a lot under Carlos but he is clearly a class act, a quality performer, and he is showing that at the moment.
“Lucas will be relishing this tie. I’m not saying he’s got anything to prove to Carlos, but maybe he’ll want to show him what he missed by not giving him more game time.
“It’s always great for a striker to kick on and keep scoring, and Lucas is on a good run right now. He’s full of confidence, playing well and really enjoying his football.
“He’s an absolute nightmare in training, you simply can’t get the ball off him. He has got unbelievable skill and he’s proving a real handful for defenders in games.”
Boyd does acknowledge that Swansea have been rejuvenated since Carvalhal took charge.
“Carlos has done really well there,” he said. “He has turned them around and they will be in good spirits with their recent results.
“But it doesn’t matter if they are a Premier League side, we will fancy ourselves against anyone at Hillsborough.”
Swansea’s 8-1 thrashing of Notts County has put them two games away from a Wembley semi-final, but even though top-flight survival is the priority, Carvalhal, who took Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in 2016, will be going all out to keep the Swans’ cup dream alive.
“The dynamic of the side will be very similar to the last few games,” he said.
“We will make some changes but we will still be a strong side. Of course we will try to go through to the next round.”