Josh Windass issues Sheffield Wednesday play-off warning | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday forward Josh Windass believes his team-mates need to set their ambitions high in the Championship this season.

Sheffield Wednesday forward Josh Windass has urged his team-mates to aim for a play-off place in the Championship this season.

After securing survival last season following an incredible turnaround under Danny Rohl, it was a busy summer for Wednesday with 11 new players arriving at Hillsborough, and many tipped them to climb the table this campaign.

It was a tough start to the season for the Owls as they lost three of their first four league games, and while they have improved since then, they have been incredibly inconsistent in recent months.

Wednesday were beaten 1-0 by local rivals Sheffield United in the Steel City derby at Bramall Lane on Sunday, meaning they head into the November international break 15th in the table.

Despite sitting in mid-table, the Owls are only three points clear of the relegation zone in what is shaping up to be a tight and competitive division, while they are seven points from the play-off places.

Josh Windass makes Sheffield Wednesday play-off claim

It seemed as though Windass was set to depart Hillsborough this summer after contract talks with Wednesday stalled, and Derby County, Stoke City, Coventry City, Hull City, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City were all said to be keen on the 30-year-old.

However, Windass did eventually sign a new deal with the Owls after a late intervention from Rohl, and the German will be delighted to have kept hold of him as he has been one of his side's main attacking threats this season, scoring four goals in 15 appearances in all competitions so far.

With over a quarter of the season gone, Windass insists he is pleased with the progress Wednesday have made, but he urged his team-mates not to settle for a mid-table finish and instead set their sights on the play-offs.

"We’ve been making it clear in the games we’ve played," Windass told The Star.

"When we played Norwich I was trying to make it clear to the dressing room that we’re a team that wants to be pushing for the play-offs so don’t think we were playing a superior team. We needed to show them we are the real deal. We’ve had some slip-ups along the way, but we intend to keep playing as we’re playing.

"I ain’t playing for 10th. If that’s where we finish then so be it, I’m not going to say that’s a failure or anything. But I never start any season hoping to finish 10th let me tell you."

"We’re completely different team and we’ve got a long way to go," Windass continued.

"That’s our problem at the minute, we’re such a good team but we don’t seem to have little dips, we have big dips. We’ll lose 4-0 or 6-2. But that’s part of developing as a team, you saw with the Norwich match that it didn’t affect us one bit, we went out and played good football against one of the best teams in the league. We’ve got a different mentality now. We believe we should win all the games we play in and that’s different to what it used to be like."

Sheffield Wednesday cannot afford to lose further ground in play-off race

Of course, it is still early in the season, but with a seven-point gap between them and the top six, it does feel as though Wednesday cannot fall too much further behind the play-off places if they are to achieve Windass' ambitious target.

The Owls have made significant progress this campaign, and while they are only three points clear of the bottom three, it seems unlikely they will be dragged into a relegation battle this time around.

Inconsistency has been the main problem for Wednesday this season, underlined by the fact they lost 6-2 to Watford earlier this month before beating Norwich City 2-0 in the next game, while only Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and Portsmouth have conceded more goals than Rohl's men, so defensive improvements are needed.

With little to separate many teams in the Championship this term, it is possible that the Owls could be an outside play-off contender, but more investment in the transfer market may be needed before they are able to sustain a promotion challenge.