Xisco Munoz sees Sheffield Wednesday progress, but calls for more power and intensity
Xisco Munoz saw signs of progress from his Sheffield Wednesday side but admits there is a long way to go as he demands more power and intensity from his side.
And if a 1-0 defeat at home to Preston North End was demoralising, there could be an even bigger one looming after midfielder Momo Diaby picked up a serious-looking ankle injury to cut short an impressive debut.
It added insult to injury after a game where the Owls showed some good signs, only to be undone by a lax moment at a free-kick.
“I’m disappointed about the result because the team improved in some situations, we kept the ball better but it wasn’t enough to take the three points,” said the Spaniard.
"For perhaps the first time since he took as manager, we got a glimpse of the football Xisco Munoz wants Sheffield Wednesday to play."#swfc @sturayner was at Hillsboroughhttps://t.co/KJxdslPGTL
— Yorkshire Post Sport (@YPSport) August 19, 2023
“They know how (hard) they are working every day on the training ground to change the situation, every day trying to reduce the process and improve the connections, and close the gap between League One and Championship.
“We are in a situation where we switch off for five minutes and we concede a goal.
“We need to improve in our box because we’re always speaking about clean sheets, and we need to improve in the last third.
“This is the difference in the Championship. We had better control of the game today but it wasn’t enough to take the points.”
On top of that, they lost Liam Lindsay at a 49th-minute free-kick and saw him open the scoring.
“I want to start thinking about the positives,” he said when asked about the goal. “It’s true, we made one mistake, we were a metre off the ball and he scored.
“After that how many times did we put crosses and balls in and not find the (right) situation?
“If you open the door, everybody’s coming in so we need to close the door and we will be stronger in that situation.
“But I don’t only want to think about those five minutes in the second half.
“When we make mistakes it’s a problem because we concede. The better things we showed is control of the ball. In the middle we kept it better. Sometimes in the final third we need to be more dangerous.
“We need more power, more intensity. We need to give more and more. We finished the game with two strikers. This is what the Championship demands.
“We need more crosses, shots outside the box, winning duels. This is the moment to stay strong and think how we can improve. When you switch off for two minutes you get punished.”
More concerning for the longer term was the sight of Diaby limping off early in the second half. Munoz was unable to put a timescale on his return but tellingly did refer hypothetically to if he was out for two or three months.
“We will see,” he said. “He arrived five days ago, he lives in a hotel, he has nothing and he played 100 per cent in the game. Normally, you are a man, not a machine.
“This is the thing I need people to understand. If I lose him for two months or three months, then after we are thinking (about the situation).
“We will see if it is a dangerous situation. I know what the doctor told me, but we are waiting for the MRI (scan).
“I don’t want to say too much until after an MRI. After, when we know exactly, for 100 per cent, then we will talk about the situation.”
