THOMMO FACES HIS BIGGEST TEST
Caretaker bids to lift the Owls again
MANAGING Sheffield Wednesday has been a poisoned chalice this season, but caretaker Neil Thompson still believes there can be a happy ending at Hillsborough.
The former Ipswich and Scarborough defender stepped up from coaching duties two months ago following the sacking of Tony Pulis, who only lasted 45 days in the hotseat after replacing Garry Monk.
Embroiled in a relegation battle when he took over, Thompson initially led an upturn in results. Victories against Middlesbrough, Derby and Exeter, the latter in the FA Cup, made it three wins from three, but inconsistency has since returned.
Indeed, the midweek 3-0 loss at high-flying Brentford made it three defeats on the trot and left the Owls second bottom heading into the weekend.
Some might panic, but Thompson’s measured approach is reassuring. While he acknowledges the problems Wednesday face, he is convinced there is still ample opportunity to prevent a return to the third tier for the first time in just under a decade.
“We haven’t scored enough goals all season, we know that - we have to be more ruthless at both ends of the pitch,” he said after the Brentford reverse.
“It’s difficult when you’re down there, sometimes players lose a little bit of confidence, but we’ve all got to be strong – players and staff - to get us back on the right track. It’s turned before so we’ve got to try to flip it again.
“Although there’s not long left of the season in terms of time, there’s a lot of games 15 games, that’s a third of the season.”
Thompson admitted his players had a ‘frank discussion’ after their midweek defeat, which shows they are not meekly accepting the situation they find themselves in.
It’s that kind of attitude that the 57-year-old wants to see in spades over the next couple of months as Wednesday – who were hit with a 12-point deduction for breaching EFL spending rules last summer before it was reduced to six on appeal – try to save their status.
“Confidence isn’t great when you’ve had three defeats, but it’s football,” he said. “You are left with these challenges after every game. You get beat and you have to drag yourselves up. You’ve got to find it from within to lift yourself and get back on a run.
Ruthless
“I think we’ve shown in the last couple of months we can create chances and then we’ve got to be more ruthless in our box in terms of defending.”
It would also help the Owls’ cause if they had a full complement of players to choose from, but it’s perhaps no great surprise in this truncated season that they have had to put up with their fair share of injuries.
Currently, influential Australian midfielder Massimo Luongo, 28, who has
missed a large chunk of the season though injury, is set to be sidelined for at least another month after his knee flared up, while vastly experienced goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, 36, is out with a fractured rib.
Midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, 20, also picked up an ankle injury after coming on as a sub at Brentford.
On the plus side, striker Jack Marriott, 26, on loan from Derby, and winger Andre Green, 22, are back in training, which could give Thompson more options in the weeks ahead.
So, taking everything into account, is ex-York, Scarborough and Boston manager Thompson ‘enjoying’ his stint in the hotseat?
“Is that the right word?” he smiled. “It’s a challenge, very demanding. You have to make difficult decisions, but that’s life as a football manager.”