Sheffield Wednesday: Carlos Carvalhal urges Owls fans to be patient ahead of Hillsborough duel with Burton Albion

Head coach Carlos Carvalhal is pleading with the Wednesday faithful to stay patient with his side when they entertain Burton Albion tonight.
Carlos CarvalhalCarlos Carvalhal
Carlos Carvalhal

The genial Portuguese chief expects the Brewers, who are battling to retain their Championship status, to make life difficult for the promotion hopefuls at Hillsborough. There is a strong possibility Burton will pack the midfield and line-up in a 4-5-1 formation. The Brewers have kept clean sheets in their last two matches on the road at Derby County and fellow strugglers Bristol City.

Carvalhal is acutely aware more and more opponents have looked to defend in numbers and quieten the crowd in the early stages this season. It is partly why he is refusing to take three points for granted against a Burton side who are operating with one of the smallest budgets in the division.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Carvalhal, who will assess several of his injured players, including Sam Hutchinson and Almen Abdi this morning before finalising his squad, told The Star: “It is, of course, important that the crowd understand that we must be patient.

“But, most importantly, we must be efficient in the game. We must play with 100 per cent concentration and 100 per cent from our fans.”

When the two sides last collided, Burton pulled off a big surprise by securing a fine 3-1 win.

Carvalhal said: “We must have some patience to play against Burton. We must respect them a lot. They have some players who can create damage. They upgraded their team in the transfer window and have a different face now.

“Burton are not an easy team to play against but we are in a good mood and are confident.”