After Villa win were Sheffield Wednesday right to stick by Carvalhal?

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Did victory at Aston Villa prove Sheffield Wednesday’s decision to stick by Carlos Carvalhal was the correct one?

Carlos Carvalhal looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday.

After the 2-0 defeat to Derby County on October 21, Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal received what is often the dreaded vote of confidence from owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The loss was the Owls’ fourth in five Championship outings and saw them drop to 16th in the table despite pre-season hopes of promotion and several fans were calling for Carvalhal to be sacked.

Sheffield Wednesday fans look on during the Sky Bet Championship match against Birmingham City.

“I still support Carlos 100 per cent,” Chansiri was quoted by the Sheffield Star while speaking at a steering group meeting with supporters.

“We have a good team and I believe in them but we are not playing consistently.

“On the pitch, it depends on the players. Carlos’ job is to make them more consistent.”

Jordan Rhodes of Sheffield Wednesday heads the ball at goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Bolton Wanderers.

Since then both the players and Carvalhal seem to have responded as Wednesday are now unbeaten in three matches in the second tier of English football.

Their last two outings have both produced victories as well, with the 2-1 triumph at in-form Aston Villa particularly impressive heading into the international break.

With two weeks off now to reflect on the last few performances, the Sheffield side have moved up to 11th and now just three points off Villa in sixth and the playoff places.

Although pressure has been building on Carvalhal, Chansiri has shown that knee-jerk reactions and change are not always the most positive thing and sometimes a little bit of patience is what is needed.

Further improvement is still required, but the Portuguese has at least started to show that he can get the club back towards the higher reaches of the Championship after a shaky start to 2017/18.