Exclusive: Jeff Hendrick addresses Sheffield Wednesday relegation battle and reveals lesson learnt at Reading FC | OneFootball

Highlights

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Jeff Hendrick has claimed the Owls were written off too soon and that a lot can change over the course of a season in the Championship – a lesson he learned last term with Reading – in an exclusive interview with Football League World courtesy of SkyBet.

Wednesday have risen off the bottom of the Championship courtesy of their late victory over Stoke City on the weekend as their upturn in fortunes under new manager Danny Rohl continued.

The South Yorkshire club won promotion via the League One play-offs last term but endured a dreadful first few months of the season under Xisco Munoz and brought in the German to replace him in October.

It took a little while for Rohl to embed his ideas but the improvements have been clear to see in recent weeks. The Owls have taken seven points from their last three games - earning a deserved draw against league leaders Leicester City before beating Blackburn Rovers and then Stoke.

They remain one of the favourites for relegation but there is growing optimism that they may be able to avoid the drop.

This is the second consecutive season that Hendrick, who joined on a season-long loan deal from Newcastle United in the summer, has found himself battling relegation.

Hendrick's spell at Reading highlighted just how much can change over the course of a Championship season as his side were in the top six in October before dropping like a stone.

The midfielder will hope he can help Wednesday do the opposite by climbing back up the table in what is left of this season, and certainly believes they have the time to do it.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, courtesy of SkyBet, Hendrick shared his thoughts on the new manager, lessons from last term, and the relegation battle.

He said: “The detail that the manager [Danny Röhl] has brought in, and the work ethic in the group has been good.

"You must give everything on the pitch, and I think every player should have that in them. To have a manager pushing us is very good – people probably wrote us off, but I thought that was too soon – it's a long season.

“Last season, you look at the position that I was in with Reading in October, I think we were in the top six. You must just keep going, keep fighting until the very end.”

Sheffield Wednesday's upcoming fixtures

The Owls travel to Carrow Road to face 13th-placed Norwich City on Wednesday evening and then host QPR, who are in the relegation battle despite their own upturn in fortunes under new boss Marti Cifuentes, on Saturday.