AdminSheffield Wednesday’s miserable league run stretched to 34 matches without a win after a 2-0 defeat to Stoke City, yet Henrik Pedersen remains convinced his side can produce an upset against Leicester City.
Goals from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, formerly of Sheffield United, and Lamine Cisse ensured Stoke avoided any slip against the Championship’s bottom club.
Still, attention quickly turned to Monday’s meeting with Leicester at Hillsborough, where Pedersen believes fortunes can change.
Despite the bleak sequence, the Wednesday manager has not lost faith.
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 supporters for their unwavering backing.
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 reflected on his side’s display.
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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