Sheffield Wednesday: Tom Lees tells Owls not to rest on their laurels

Tom Lees has warned his Wednesday teammates to guard against complacency in the Championship promotion battle.
Tom LeesTom Lees
Tom Lees

Carlos Carvalhal’s charges are in a rich vein of form, having garnered 20 points from their last 10 league fixtures.

The Owls’ impressive run of results has propelled them into the play-off places. They currently occupy fifth position, trailing leaders Newcastle United by only seven points.

But centre-half Lees is not getting carried away despite their fine run.

He told The Star: “We are looking good but we can’t rest on our laurels. We have got to keep looking to improve.”

Expectation levels have soared since Carvalhal led to the Play-Off Final last May and Wednesday failed to make a fast start this time around, accumulating a meagre five points from their opening five matches.

Lees conceded: “I don’t think we started our best. We had a lot of players who were under-performing. We struggled a bit.

“We were picking up points but but we weren’t particularly playing well. We finally came through that and showed that we are strong and have some characters so hopefully we can build on it.”

The former Leeds United man is enjoying his partnership with Sam Hutchinson at the heart of the Owls’ rearguard. The duo have played an integral part in Wednesday racking up three clean sheets in their last five matches.

“Things are going really well and the stats speak for themselves,” he said. “Sam’s playing really well and hopefully we can carry it on.

“I’m happy with how things are going and I thought we were unlucky not to keep one at Cardiff. We were done by a set play and there was not much we could do about it. It was a good strike.

“We limited Cardiff to very few chances. It is alright at the moment so hopefully we can carry it on.”