The Owls thoroughly deserved their maiden away victory of the season, said Stuart Gray following the 1-0 win at Watford on Saturday.
A stunning free kick from Connor Wickham was the difference between the sides at Vicarage Road, leaving the Owls in sight of leaving the bottom three.
And Gray said: “I hope no one up and down the country looks at that as a smash and grab because it wasn’t, I thought we were good value for the win.
“We ran out feet into the ground and everyone worked their socks off. That’s the least you can ask and I’m pleased for every one of them.
“People say they do it for the manager but first and foremost they do it for themselves and their families.
“They have to be able to look at themselves and say they gave everything and they certainly did that today.”
The Owls posted their first clean sheet of the campaign to go with the travelling triumph and Gray is delighted those statistics have come into play.
He added: “It’s a monkey off the back and obviously that’s a big relief. It’s something that can no longer be brought up before every game but it’s important that we build on this win.
“We have two games at home this week against Wigan on Wednesday and Bournemouth on Saturday, so there’s not much time to enjoy the win today because our preparations start straight away for the next one.”
The Vicarage Road clash was not without controversy as both Gray and Watford boss Gianfranco Zola felt two key decisions could have gone either way.
The Hornets had a Ikechi Anya strike in the first half ruled out for offside, while Wednesday believed they had a strong shout for a penalty when Jacques Maghoma went down beneath a challenge from Nyron Nosworthy.
Zola said: “We have seen the video not once but a few times and Anya is definitely onside. But that is the way that things are going for us in front of goal right now.”
Of the Owls’ penalty claim, Gray said: “You only have to look at the players’ reactions and they thought it was a penalty.
“But sometimes you get the decisions and sometimes you don’t. The referee makes the decision and we completely respect that.”