Jordan Thorniley made his first Championship appearance since mid-December on Saturday and manager Steve Bruce was pleased by the defender’s contribution.
The 22-year-old was thrust into the action with captain Tom Lees sidelined with a minor shin injury.
It’s likely that Thorniley will retain his position for Tuesday’s trip to Millwall and Bruce has no concerns on that score, as he told swfc.co.uk:
“He did very well and the reports back I’ve got from the lads over the last few weeks, he can feel harshly done by for not being in the team because he’s done very well.
“It’s good that the kid has come in and done well, he’ll have it all on tomorrow night that’s for sure because we’ll need our centre backs to be at their best.
“We know what Millwall will throw at us.”
Defensively, Wednesday have shored things up of late with seven clean sheets in the last 11 outings, including back to back shutouts in Bruce’s first two games.
“You need the team to defend it’s not just the back four,” Bruce explained. “The guys have worked on the defensive structure.
SB: “A clean sheet is always a positive for me as a defender. We’re giving ourselves a firm platform to build on.."
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) February 11, 2019
🚫 7 clean sheets from our last 11 games in all competitions #swfc pic.twitter.com/pWVv3ASwKi
“The first thing you have to do is shut up shop and not give things away and stop getting beat because it’s an awful habit to get into.
“The key has been to find a back four, let them find a rhythm and thankfully that is a positive stat to take into Tuesday night.”