Xisco’s Sheffield Wednesday reign only really starts now as he reaffirms huge confidence

That’s according to the man himself, who has navigated a difficult first few weeks at Hillsborough that have included a manic transfer window and a turgid set of results.

A first point of the season claimed at Leeds United provided Wednesday with a platform for them to kick on after opening their campaign with four defeats on the spin.

A return to Middlewood Road on Tuesday saw new signing John Buckley introduced to his new teammates - Jeff Hendrick is away on Republic of Ireland duty - and while Xisco insisted over the weekend he is on the lookout for opportunities to sign an attacking free agent, he is relieved the bulk of his squad is complete and removed from the distraction and rabid speculation of a transfer window.

The hard work, he says, starts now.

“I am very happy,” he said when asked whether he was pleased to see the window close. “It was very, very difficult for me. Very difficult. So many players? It’s hard.

“Right now we have our squad and this is one of the things. We have some problems with the internationals leaving (to go on international duty) but now is the moment to continue working. I think this every day.

“Maybe now everybody is happy? [After the Leeds result] For me, no, because we must continue with the same energy, same power, same mentality. We need to change and improve a lot of things.

“But this is what the players give me. It was the same at Cardiff. It is better when we take the points, 100 per cent. But I know what we are working from and I am very happy with them.”

Wednesday will return to action against old League One foes Ipswich Town at Hillsborough on September 16.

Such a long break between matches will allow for them to add intensity to their programme and further instil their methods to the squad.

The importance of this international break will allow them to claw back on time lost in pre-season, Xisco said.

He sought to reassure supporters that hard work on the training ground will pay dividends in the point column soon enough.

“It is a very important time, for me the most important time,” he said. “We can speak about pre-season but that wasn’t easy for us. It was very hard with the players we needed to sign the adaptation of some players and how they are going in the group.

“It is important for us because it is like a connection.

“We finish the squad and after we start working on everything. The timing we had was the timing we had. For sure, good things are coming soon.”