Will Vaulks has given his first-hand experience on what exactly Sheffield Wednesday will need to avoid relegation.
The midfielder arrived at Hillsborough from Cardiff City last summer and was a regular in the Owls’ team as they won promotion back to the Championship.
Will Vaulks has continued to retain an important role in Sheffield Wednesday‘s team this term, however this time he finds himself battling for points at the bottom of the table – and not for the first time.
Cardiff finished 18th in the Championship in Vaulks’ final season at the club, before he endured two relegations to League One during his time with Rotherham United before that.
Vaulks is eager to avoid a return to the third tier and has highlighted what the squad need to do in order to climb out of the bottom three.
Speaking to The Star, the 30-year-old said: “I think ability, to be honest, is quite low down on the list.
“I think it’s about the team all pushing in the same direction, getting an XI out there that are desperate to scrap and fight for points. The manager is trying to show that, over a period of time, as your performances improve then you’ll pick up more points – but there are games under him where he’ll admit that he’d liked to have played better football at times.
“But you have to find a way to win. Look at Stoke, that’s an old-school Championship game and we came away from it with three points. What would you rather do? Have 75% possession and get beat, or win away at Stoke? You have to pick the time to play those games where you’ve just got to be backs against the wall. I thought we defended really well and nicked one.
“It’s about having the ability to do everything – scrap some games out and dominate some games. I think that comes from the XI on the pitch having the hunger and fight. Celebrate clearances, celebrate headers and tackles, and then when it calms down have the ability to hurt teams.”
How do Sheffield Wednesday stay up?
While Sheffield Wednesday need their players to be at their best, it isn’t going to be fancy footwork and trick-shots that are going to keep them in the Championship.
The Owls desperately need points and they will need to put on some very ugly performances to grind those wins out.
Danny Rohl‘s side looked on course for defeat against QPR at the weekend, but they got stuck in and netted two goals with only three shots on target, whilst also receiving five yellow cards.
It will be Sheffield Wednesday’s hard work, grit and determination that guides them to safety – and the experience from the likes of Will Vaulks, Barry Bannan and Liam Palmer should really help them too.