Pol Valentin has admitted he was ‘scared’ when Xisco Munoz was sacked by Sheffield Wednesday.
Previously plying his trade in the Spanish second division with Sporting Gijon, Pol Valentin was signed by his compatriot Xisco Munoz in the summer.
The full-back managed only one minute of Championship action in the opening six games, before starting the following three matches and conceding seven goals.
It was only three months after he arrived at Hillsborough that Munoz was sacked after a winless start to his tenure, and Valentin’s place in the starting line-up was thrown into doubt.
Valentin has now started five of Danny Rohl‘s 15 games in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, and the defender has admitted that he was ‘scared’ that he would be thrown out into the cold.
Speaking to The Star, Valentin said: “I’ll be honest, in the beginning when Xisco left I was a little bit scared.
“Because he was the one who signed me… When you’re a player from outside the country, if the club got an English coach then maybe it would be more difficult for me because he may try to put English players in.
“So I was a little scared, but I know I’m a good player and knew if I worked hard and trained hard, and if I played like I did against Middlesbrough or the second game of the Carabao Cup then I would play.
“You can’t come to England and go, ‘I will be in the XI in the first day’. You need to accept that things happen, that you need time to adapt to the league and the language, to the style, because you’re new and nobody knows you or what you can do on the pitch… So I tried to be calm, tried to give myself time.”
Is Pol Valentin improving under Danny Rohl?
Playing in the second division of Spanish football is unsurprisingly very different to competing in the very physical and demanding league that is the Championship.
So it is no surprise that Pol Valentin has taken a while to settle in, while the form of players such as Akin Famewo and Dominic Iorfa has also made it pretty difficult for him to force his way into the team.
But the 26-year-old is taken his opportunity well at the moment, with a number of key players out of action.
The win over Hull City last time out saw Valentin make an impressive four tackles, as well as winning seven of his 11 ground duels.
Valentin will have to do a lot more to retain his place in the team, though Danny Rohl will be relieved to know he can call on him when needed.