“Can smell it a mile off” Sheffield Wednesday 2005 promotion hero makes Josh Windass play-off claim and backs former teammate

James Quinn signed for Wednesday on a short-term deal from Dutch club Willem II, becoming Paul Sturrock’s first permanent signing at S6 and stepping into a side attempting to get back to the Championship at the second time of asking.

His contribution was short but very sweet, scoring a last-gasp winner at Hull City to seal Wednesday their play-off spot and set up a semi-final match-up with Brentford.

The rest is of course history, Brentford pushed aside before a dramatic 4-2 win over Hartlepool United at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in which Quinn played 77 minutes before he was substituted for top scorer Steven MacLean, returning to the side after months out with a foot injury.

But what of the parallels between MacLean and Josh Windass? How will the approach of his old teammate Darren Moore match up against Sturrock? Will Wednesday’s experienced squad handle the pressure? Here's what Quinn thinks.

Josh Windass can be Wednesday’s modern day Macca..

A foot injury to your most feared striker? A race to get him back to play a part in the play-offs? Ring any bells?

Quinn recalls the return of MacLean to the bench for the 2005 final instilling further confidence into the squad – and believes the earlier return of Windass can do the same for the modern cohort.

He said: “There are a few things you need to fall your way; you’ve got to be lucky with injuries and you’ve got to be a fresh as you can going into the play-offs. We had the issue with Matt Hamshaw towards the end and we were able to bring back Steve MacLean. We pretty much had a full squad to choose from.

"The main thing is having a strong squad and we had that. Then the bonus of your top goalscorer coming back in? It gives everybody a boost.

“Windass coming back could well be a big boost for everyone. When he plays he makes a difference and with all these things, you’re just looking for that bit of help and for things to turn for you. When a player of that importance becomes available – similar to what Steve MacLean was for us – it changes things and it does give you a lift.”

There are experienced players in this squad, like there was in 05..

So much has been said and written on the calming influence the likes of Lee Bullen had on Wednesday’s squad all those 18 years ago.

Wednesday’s modern squad seemed to buckle under pressure late on in the regular season but is packed full of gnarled, experienced pros. Quinn hopes that can make a difference.

“You talk about leaders in the squad and we certainly had those, but it starts at the top,” Quinn recalled. “Paul Sturrock never changed, he was calm, clear in his mind, the hard work never stopped.

“But when you send players onto that pitch you don’t know how they’re going to react in high-pressure situations, especially playing at Hillsborough or at the Millennium Stadium or at Wembley. You just don’t know – it can be a player that has been around and that you wouldn’t expect and for whatever reason they freeze on the day.

“There’s not a great deal a manager can do about that, it’s about your players.

“From the outside, you look at the squad that Wednesday have and you’d be confident to think they’ve got enough to handle those pressures at a club like Wednesday.

“But you look at some of the other teams in there as well, they’ve got their own pressures. The pressure is on everyone and it can be about who handles that best.”

Darren Moore won’t panic..

Wednesday boss Moore is an old teammate of Quinn’s, with the pair having played together at West Brom in the early 2000s.

Indeed, there won’t be many that recognise the Owls dugout quite as clearly as Quinn. He’s an old pal of assistant manager Jamie Smith from their playing days and he was right-hand man to Jimmy Shan during his time in charge at National League Solihull Moors, where the former Northern Ireland international still works on the coaching staff.

This time around Moore has the benefit of a previous play-off campaign to fall back on and Quinn backed his old skipper to follow the blueprint of 05 boss Sturrock in creating a sense of quiet confidence among the players.

“He won’t panic,” Quinn said. “Players can smell a mile away when a manager is panicking or making things up as he goes along. I know Darren and Darren will not be anything like that. He’s very level-headed, very calm and he’ll bring that across to the players.

“There’s no formula to it. You can’t really know what’s going on inside a player’s head and when it comes to it it can be 50/50 on the day. It happens to bigger and better players in the world than at League One level.

“I said it all along, there was no way we weren’t going to get promoted that year (2005). I knew we’d beat Brentford and even when Hartlepool went into the lead in the final, I had every confidence we were going to win the game.

“I don’t know where that comes from, the manager maybe, the messages he was giving us? Whether it was just me, a confident player at that time? I don’t know.”

READ MORE:

Rogue wide choice and a triple threat - Sheffield Wednesday predicted XI to win at Peterborough United

Darren Moore admits play-off selection dilemma as soon-to-be free agent steps up to help win Sheffield Wednesday stat title

Sheffield Wednesday made aware recent transfer option ‘wants next move’ after 22-goal season