Praise for 'brilliant' Sheffield Wednesday fans as midfielder makes wisdom claim

The Republic of Ireland international is on loan from Newcastle United and has been a fringe figure in recent weeks, left out of the last two matchday squads by manager Danny Röhl with his last start arriving as far back as 55 days ago in the German's first match in charge of the club.

Since then a midfield trio of Barry Bannan, Will Vaulks and George Byers appears to have become settled but with so many matches arriving in the coming weeks there may well be a need for rotation as Wednesday look to continue their recent resurgence in the points column.

“The Sheffield Wednesday fans have been brilliant since I’ve come in," Hendrick said, speaking to Sky Bet. "Things aren’t going well, but we’re still getting a load of fans in the stadium and the noise has been good. The team have been brilliant, and we’ve picked up some good points lately.

“I think the fans have been brilliant. You look at the last few games, we’ve got results and they’ve given the fans a lift. Even before this run of results, the fans have been arriving in their numbers, supporting the team and trying to get behind the lads.”

In terms of the average age of the squad, only West Brom's is more senior than Wednesday's 27.8. Hendrick has played 408 times at Championship and Premier League level and along with a number of his teammates has plenty of experience to draw on in what is a difficult quest to finish in the Championship safety spots.

“Hopefully my experience can be important, but there are a good few players in and around my age who have lots of experience as well," he said. "It’s about everyone coming together and having that one goal. It’s good to have experienced players in the squad. I think it’s good to have both young and old players, because when you’re young you’re fearless, but the older players have the know-how to get through sticky situations.”