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

The Owls boss found himself scrambling from match to match not long ago, a tight-knit squad finding itself short on form and decimated by injury in what was a difficult couple of months.

But entering the post-season with four wins on the spin, Moore believes the likes of Josh Windass, Jack Hunt and Reece James coming back into contention can provide a further boost.

Another player to have jumped back into contention is Aden Flint, who was a star man in Wednesday’s significant win over Derby County having replaced the rested Michael Ihiekwe at the heart of the back three.

Flint – who looks likely to leave Stoke City on a free this summer – won more headers than anyone else and moved the ball nicely, to a rate of an 85% pass completion rate.

Asked whether Flint’s performance had offered food for thought over the starting spot in the middle of defence, Moore said yes.

“We spoke about Icky getting the minutes and then Aden came in and did well today,” said the Owls boss. “His aerial ability was good, he off-loaded the ball really, really well at times and he kept us together. He’s been such a wonderful addition to us in the second half of this season.

“He’s vastly experienced; been there, done it, got the t-shirt. This arena [against Derby] was water off a duck’s back for him and he showed that today with that appearance.

“What people don’t always realise is that his positional sense is spot on.

“So it’s nice going into the play-offs where he’s got minutes under his belt. We’ll look at the group of players getting back to the levels we wanted and it’s a timely boost to have that.”

Alongside that of Flint, one of a handful of returns to form has come between the posts, with Cameron Dawson making a string of impressive saves in the Derby win while presenting a confident figure in both dealing with crosses and decision making when leaving his line.

The clean sheet claimed against the Rams was Dawson’s 13th of a League One campaign in which he only played 22 times – offering a remarkable divisional-high clean sheet rate of 59%.

It also meant that with Ipswich Town conceding in their last day win over Port Vale, Wednesday ended as the side with the most clean sheets in the division (24) and level with League Two champions Leyton Orient across the entire EFL.

On Dawson, Moore said: “He pulled off three magnificent saves. That just shows the season that he has had and we were delighted it was another clean sheet chalked-up for him. Quality for him.

“I’m pleased we got the clean sheet. We’ve got the most clean sheets in League One after Ipswich conceded and it’s great, that, it shows the mindset and culture and mentality of the boys, it’s another one that has improved from last year.”

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