Owls boss Gary Megson spoke to the official Sheffield Wednesday website ahead of his side's League One game against Carlisle at Brunton Park this evening, Megson first talking about the challenge United will have to offer :
"I think they are well organised, they are hardworking, I think sometimes as well geographically some clubs have an advantage one way and then a big disadvantage the other way. The trip they must have had to make down to Charlton on Saturday must have been a right trek, but it also works in reverse when you have to go up there, so I am not saying that is why they are good, bad or indifferent but it is something we have to cope with when we go.
"I spoke to the players on Saturday about expecting a backlash from Carlisle because it was a nice day, everything in the garden was rosy because we're on a good run and you don't like feeling like that because I like to be right on the edge, with all that drive and all that desire. I knew the players would be feeling like that because you can't tell them they are not playing well and things are not going well when they are, they know they're doing great and getting results.
"But you have to play well when you are getting results, which is a strange thing to say, but in the first half on Saturday, we were a bit turgid and it was only in the second half when we played like we do. We didn't play particularly well on Saturday in possession but we do look solid, we do look a threat from set pieces and we do look a threat from crosses.
"Gary Madine didn't think he played well on Saturday but I did. He got hold of the ball, he worked his socks off but he didn't score and that shows the fine dividing line between succeeding and, in his eyes, failing. He's had what I thought was a perfectly good goal chalked off, he's hit the crossbar and his shot was going in until the keeper saved it and Rob scored from the rebound. So in the blink of an eye, he could have had a hat-trick.
" He had a good time at Carlisle, he did well there and I think he will get a good reception tonight. If we are to go forward we have to act like a bigger club than we are status wise, and we do. Gary’s contract runs for quite a while. He seems to be happy and he’s doing very well. We’ve got no worries about that. We need to be signing that kind of player.”