Sheffield Wednesday midfielder James O'Connor is looking for some stability at Hillsborough after playing for four clubs in the last five years. The Dubliner is hoping to use his experience to put Wednesday in with a shot at the Championship play-offs this season as they try to return to the Premier League after a lengthy absence.
Some inconsistent results have kept Brian Laws' men in mid-table, but the Owls have already shown that they are capable of giving the fans something to shout about - most notably their Steel City derby victory over Sheffield United. They followed that up with another South Yorkshire scalp as they held Doncaster off and O'Connor, 29, hopes that Laws gets a new contract so that they can start building for the future.
Injuries have hindered Wednesday this term and that translates into inconsistent results as last weekend's 3-0 defeat at Derby showed, which sent them plummeting to 14th in the table. However, O'Connor spoke to givemefootball.com's Ian Clarkson and insisted there is plenty of reason for optimism at the club.
YOU'RE LOOKING TO STICK AROUND AT WEDNESDAY AFTER STINTS AT WEST BROM, STOKE AND BURNLEY, DO YOU GET THE FEELING THE MANAGER HAS THE BEGINNINGS OF SOMETHING GOOD HERE?
Without doubt; I don't know what the situation is with the manager and any contract but, as far as I'm concerned, I hope the manager stays and we can all look to get some stability at the club and kick on from here. For the moment though, I think we can only look to next week, we really need to get our heads down and stick together.
DO WEDNESDAY HAVE IT IN THEM TO STAY UP THERE WITH THE PLAY-OFF CONTENDERS?
I hope so. We played Doncaster recently and made it two games unbeaten; those are the sort of things that we need to build on. But I think what we need most is a little more consistency. We need to train hard every week and concentrate on getting positive results.
SO WHAT'S NEEDED OVER THE REST OF THE SEASON?
We have to be a lot better - and we all agree on that. But we know that if we get three points from games then we can climb back into the top half of the table. It's important we work on that in training every week. Sometimes we go a goal up and become a little too cautious. From the fans' point of view it might not be good to watch and if you concede then you're in trouble again. But that can be understandable if you haven't had a good run. We need to look at that.
BUT THERE'S PLENTY TO GET ENCOURAGED ABOUT ISN'T THERE?
Look at the strikers at the moment, there's really good competition for places here now that there's all back. They all realise now that they have to put a shift in if they want to stay in the team.
THERE ARE SOME GOOD YOUNG PLAYERS AT WEDNESDAY, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SOMEONE LIKE LEON CLARKE WHO IS ENJOYING A REVIVAL AT THE CLUB AFTER SCORING A FEW GOALS RECENTLY?
Leon was in the youth team at Wolves with my younger brother Kevin when I was at West Brom, so I remember him from when he was really young. But sometimes he gets treated a little bit harshly. He puts a shift in and at the moment he's scoring goals. We're delighted about that and if he keeps working hard then he's going to be the team. I'm delighted for him.
WHY DOES HE GET TREATED LIKE HE DOES? THE HILLSBOROUGH FANS ARE ON HIS SIDE THIS SEASON BUT IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT.
I think sometimes Leon gives the impression that he isn't really trying. But he does, and he wants to do well, it's just a perception people have of him. He gives his all and he's keen to develop his game which is great, that's what you're looking for. I can't speak about what happened to him last season because I wasn't here but, as far as I'm concerned this season he's working hard and turning that into goals. Long may that continue.
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