AdminSheffield Wednesday’s wretched league sequence stretched to 34 matches without a win as Stoke City eased to a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough, yet Henrik Pedersen insists belief remains intact ahead of Leicester City’s visit.
Goals from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, once on loan at Sheffield United, and Lamine Cisse ensured the Potters avoided any slip against the Championship’s bottom side, leaving Wednesday’s plight unchanged despite moments of endeavour.
The numbers make for grim reading, but Pedersen has not wavered in his conviction that a breakthrough is close, identifying Easter Monday as a potential turning point.
He said: “I have a big belief in my players and I have a big belief that we can win a game again and I have a big belief that we can do it on Monday.
“I see how hard the team work every day in training. I see the culture and how they are standing up for themselves.
“I have a big belief that we can surprise in one or two games and do something. We all want to invest to come onto plus points and to get the next win.”
Pedersen also praised the club’s loyal support.
He said: “They are with us in every game. Before we go on the pitch in every game, we want to make them proud.
“We cannot expect to win all six of the remaining games but we will give everything that we can on the pitch. We will show who we are and we must stand up for each other. This is what the boys and the coaching staff are trying to do every day.”
Stoke manager Mark Robins took satisfaction from the result, though not without reservation.
He said: “I was happy enough with the performance. I was pleased with the three points and the clean sheet. We scored two goals of good quality.
“When you lose a game like we did last time out, you need to go and win and turn it around and score some goals and play properly and well. Mostly we did okay. We gave too many balls away and gave them too many opportunities later on in the game and that’s a consequence of what we have got available at the moment and where everybody is at with their recovery from injury or coming back from international games.
There wasn’t enough speed and movement in there but the three points are most welcome. That’s three points more than we had in the whole of last season and there are six games left. We talk about incremental improvement and it’s there for everybody to see.
“While we’re not singing from the rooftops about it, it’s something you can tangibly get hold of and we want to try and pick up as many points as we can from the last 18 and see where that takes us.”
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