'A good chance' - Sheffield Wednesday man sends warning to Leeds United as Elland Road exodus addressed
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Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Svante Ingelsson believes his side have a ‘good chance’ of adding to Leeds United’s early-season woes when the two Yorkshire rivals meet at Hillsborough on Friday evening.
Leeds have endured a pretty miserable start to the campaign, with Daniel Farke’s side yet to taste victory in a slow start all too reminiscent of last season. Draws against Portsmouth and West Brom came either side of a dismal 3-0 Carabao Cup first round defeat at home to Middlesbrough last week, a performance that drew a smattering of boos from those inside Elland Road.
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Hide AdThat defeat was quickly followed by news Brighton and Hove Albion had triggered Georginio Rutter’s £40million release clause, with the 22-year-old following Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, Glen Kamara and many more out the door. It leaves Leeds short of first-team players and somewhat short of optimism going into Friday’s Yorkshire derby, and Ingelsson hopes his side can add to that ill-feeling but knows a top quality squad will not roll over.
“They are also a historic club, they have been in the Premier League more recently than Sheffield Wednesday but both are big, big clubs,” Ingelsson told The Star. “They have a good squad, almost promoted last year. They have lost a few good players but they will still be competitive.
“They are a good team that we should respect but if we play our game and can get up to that level then we will have a good chance to win the game. Evening games are always special. Such a game against a good team will be really interesting and it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
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Hide AdWednesday harbour hopes of improving on last season’s late survival bid under the impressive Danny Rohl, and looked to have flown out the blocks with a rampant 4-0 opening-weekend win over Plymouth Argyle. But they were sent crashing back down to earth on Sunday, losing by the same scoreline at Sunderland.
Viewers might argue Wednesday didn’t deserve to lose by such a scoreline but it was a humbling defeat nonetheless. The league campaign is only two games old but Rohl’s men have already experienced the highs and lows of Championship football, and Ingelsson insists no one is getting carried away with either result.
“We don’t have to put our heads too far down just because of one game [vs Sunderland], it was two set pieces and another goal where we played in,” the Owls man added. “If you take away those three goals then it is a totally different game. Of course we need to do a lot of things better and get a more steady performance in our game, but we have a lot of new players and I think we are going to learn something from every game to develop forward.”
Wednesday could be without summer signings Nathaniel Chalobah and Ben Hamer, as well as Akin Famewo, for Friday’s clash while Ike Ugbo will likely remain fit enough for the bench. Leeds still have just one fitness concern, with Max Wober’s ongoing calf issue making him a doubt. Imminent new signing Largie Ramazani could be involved if he was fully registered by 12pm on Thursday, although Daniel Farke suggested in his pre-match press conference that there will be no new faces in the squad.