LOOKING BACK GOING FORWARD
Owls captain Loovens says they can use last year’s experience in the run-in
WITH THE race for the Championship play-offs down effectively to five teams, all the combatants are looking for an edge.
Everything from current form to star players being free of injury are seized upon by players and supporters alike as a sign that this could well be their club’s year.
Reality, of course, is often different. Exactly a year ago, Hull City had been fortunate to escape Huddersfield Town with a point after being walloped 4-0 by Derby County just four days early. Coming on the back of a truly horrible run, Steve Bruce’s men looked in danger of missing out on the top six but, just six weeks later, promotion was sealed at Wembley.
That success for the Tigers underlines just why the ‘momentum’ that is spoken of ad infinitum at this time of year is not necessarily the decisive factor many believe it to be.
What often does, however, stand a team in good stead during a run-in is past experience. Brighton & Hove Albion are odds on to reach the Premier League just 12 months after missing out on automatic promotion to Middlesbrough in the most agonising of fashions by drawing 1-1 at the Riverside on the final day.
Boro, meanwhile, secured that promotion after being beaten in the 2015 play-off final by Norwich City. Clearly, heartache can embolden a side to go on and make amends a year later.
Glenn Loovens, Sheffield Wednesday’s captain, believes that can again be the case this year.
“We have a very experienced team so I don’t think this will put extra pressure on us,” said the 33-year-old Dutch defender when asked about the South Yorkshire club’s quest to go one better than last season.
“We have been through this before and I am sure we can cope better with it. For me, it is always better to be in the play-off places, but we cannot look too far ahead.”
Wednesday returned to the top six on Saturday tea-time with a victory at home to Newcastle United.
Fulham had beaten Ipswich Town just half an hour or so before the Owls kicked off at Hillsborough to depose Carlos Carvalhal’s side in that final playoff place so the pressure was on.
But the hosts responded in magnificent fashion to remain firmly on track for that second crack at the play-offs in as many seasons.
The elation at the final whistle was in stark contrast to the gloom of Wednesday’s previous home game, a 2-0 loss to Reading.
Supporters of Leeds and Huddersfield have experienced a similar recent swing of emotion.
Last week, for instance, saw United follow a demoralising defeat at Brentford with three deserved points against Preston North End.
The Terriers, meanwhile, went from the high of the final half-hour against Norwich City to the despondency of being well beaten by Nottingham Forest.
However, as Hull proved a year ago, the key is not to get too caught up in the bigger picture.
“We take it game by game and do not lose focus by looking too far ahead,” added Owls captain Loovens. “The first game is the most important, and that is how we look at it.
“We put pressure on ourselves because we have done well in recent seasons. If you hit a rough spell, the challenge is simply to do better.
“This is pressure we put on ourselves by doing so well. We need to take confidence from getting back to winning ways and the performance, and take it into the next one.”