The 2017/18 campaign has seen huge strides made by Jordan Thorniley.
In terms of first team experience, the defender has made significant progress and learned lessons that will stand him in excellent stead moving forward.
First up, a loan move to League Two side Accrington kick-started his season in September, where he made 17 appearances for the promotion hopefuls.
The 21-year-old returned to Hillsborough in January and made his senior bow for the Owls in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff.
Delighted with his progress, Thorniley told the Owls’ official website:
“I was happy with how I played, you obviously have nerves going into a game like that, the first time playing in front of over 20,000 supporters, but I enjoyed it.
“I took a lot from my time at Accrington, for the most part while I was there we were competing in the top three and every week you are fighting for three points, a lot of responsibility, you want to please the fans, you want to be up there in the table.
“In the Cardiff game I felt like I grew more and more into the game and gained confidence as it went on.
“It felt great, this is what you work and train hard for every day. I think I did the manager proud, he put his faith in me.”
He added: “The manager took me to one side in the hotel before the game and told me I had earned the chance, to go out there and enjoy it and play my game.
“He’s given a lot of confidence to me and the other Under-23 boys. You know he is watching every day in training and if there are injuries in the team, you could be called up at any time.”
And following his debut on Saturday, the former Everton defender has thanked Owls fans for their kind words on social media, adding:
“I want to thank the Wednesday supporters for their kind words to me after the game.
“I tried to favourite a lot of the messages on Twitter but there were so many. It can be nervy, you want to impress but the fans were different class with me.”
