'Bamboozled!' What ex-boss Garry Monk made of Sheffield Wednesday's 'perfect' hammering of Cardiff City

Sheffield Wednesday turned in their best performance in a few years to hammer play-off chasing Cardiff City at Hillsborough to spark what could be, on Easter Monday, the biggest resurrection since you know when.

Julian Borner set them on their way after four minutes and from then on Wednesday were superb – Callum Paterson rifled in a stunning goal before Adam Reach added the first of his double, coming either side of another Jordan Rhodes goal.

It was sensational stuff from the Owls and back in the Sky Sports studio there was a man who might have been on the sidelines had there been a few more displays like this much earlier in the campaign.

Working as a pundit for the night, ex-boss Garry Monk still had the look of a proud parent as he poured praise on Wednesday for their performance, which he described as ‘perfect’.

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"They were fantastic, exactly what they needed,” said Monk. “We talked about it a lot, even in my time at the start of the season, was that side of it - not creating the chances and having ruthlessness with it, it was that clinicalness. Today you saw complete clinical and ruthless finishing.

"Such a perfect performance from start to finish in terms of the start that they had. They kind of bamboozled Cardiff with that start, they got the goals and never looked back.

"Cardiff didn't really know how to react to it. Such a good performance and I think the key to it now is to take those shoots of growth that they have seen from today which we haven't been able to do the whole season long. If you are going to do it, what a perfect time to start that so hopefully they can carry that on.”

Monk went on to suggest that the fact Wednesday had begun the evening bottom of the table after Wycombe’s win over Rotherham United meant that there had been a bit f pressure taken off them and they could play with freedom.

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"Barry alluded to it in his interview in terms of knowing you are bottom of the league before you start, you have got thing to lose, you have to win,” he added. “As much as there's pressure, it relieves that pressure as well, with that freedom (that it gives).

"The goals executed, the deliveries, the execution... they were perfect goals. Exactly what you train for, what you look for on a consistent basis.

"That's been the difficult bit, not producing this type of quality consistently but it is a squad that can produce this quality. That's the most frustrating bit about it. In terms of all the goals, there's team goals, set-piece goals, but the execution of them all, it was about being clinical and ruthless and they were that for sure.”

Wednesday have seven matches remaining to survive the drop and are six points off fourth bottom Birmingham City – both with 39 games played