‘Until the day I die’ – Sheffield Wednesday star on taking work home and sticking together

The Owls skipper is playing in his ninth season in the club’s colours following his move back in 2015, and Sheffield Wednesday is part of him now – it’s in his heart. The Scot takes his role as captain seriously, not just trying to make things tick on the pitch but also doing his bit for the Sheffield community.

He’s given money, he’s given his time, and recent donations to Sheffield Wednesday Ladies and the handing over of a signed shirt in honour of fan, Liam Rodgers, are a small look into the way he looks to use his position for good.

Wednesday are winless, though, and after the highs of last season it’s hard to take for somebody as competitive as the Owls skipper. And he admits that even though he’s got better over the years, he still takes it home with him.

“With results going the way they’ve been going, you tend to take it back to your family time as well,” he told The Star. “You get better at it as you get older, but you never ever switch off - especially in times like this. It’s alright when you’re winning, that’s when family time is easier, but switching off when you’re losing is harder to do.

“So you can be doing things with your kids, but still be thinking about football, thinking ‘Oh, well I could’ve done this’ or ‘I should’ve done that better’ - so it is hard.

“When you go home and see your six-month old it does bring a smile to your face, but we’re human beings and it’s the same as anyone in terms of if your work’s not going well it’s hard to switch off from it.

“Like I say, it’s alright when you’re winning games - you still need the support but not as much. When you’re losing you really need the support, both from your family and the supporters…

“I’ve been here a long time in football, so it is one of my clubs now - it’ll be part of my life until the day that I die, and I’ll be watching them until the day that I die. So what’s happening affects me personally and in my private life as well.”

It’s just one of the reasons why he wants to make it better, why he’s so desperate to see the Owls come out the other side of this bad run – and he says it’s going to take togetherness, from everyone.

He went on to say, “For this club to go forward we need to all stick together, it’s going to be tough times. We’re in a different league, a harder league, with lots of new players.

“As a club, if you take away the fanbase and the history, right now in this league we’re a smaller club as in the squad that we have. We’re obviously a massive club in terms of the fans and our history, but we’re not a big fish anymore.

“But I believe that if we keep doing what we’re doing and believe in Xisco then better times will be around the corner.”

The Owls take on Sunderland tomorrow evening, and with a rare Saturday and Sunday with their family it would certainly be a good time to return to winning ways.