Sheffield Wednesday are genuine playoff contenders this season. At least, that’s where they currently sit in the Championship standings.

After 22 matches in the league, the Owls occupy fifth place having amassed 36 points so far.

They are heading into this weekend’s clash with fellow rivals Bristol City on the back of a five-match unbeaten run, which will need to be kept up if they are to catch the runaway leaders West Brom, who are some 13 points ahead at the top.

Their fortunes have certainly turned around ever since Garry Monk was appointed as manager back in September, finally replacing Steve Bruce.

In just 16 matches under his stewardship, Wednesday have lost only three league games, all by one solitary goal and one to the aforementioned front-runners.

That’s quite impressive, yet, plenty of managers in the opposing dugout have often taken a swipe at him.

“These are a very direct side who go from back to front, so it was a very basic game tonight. I’m flabbergasted really. it’s crazy. There’s nothing in the game. We come here against a side top six, I think, and absolutely nothing in the game. We felt we did enough in the game to get something out of it. They were no better than us. Take the major errors out of our play and we are top six.”

– Nathan Jones, ex-Stoke City boss following their 1-0 defeat in October

Monk has recently opted for a 4-4-2 formation more frequently, and it’s paying dividends – in fact, in two games this season, the Owls have bagged themselves four first-half goals, so it’s proving to be quite the lucrative system.

If you were to ask others, however, they’d tell you it’s all about long-ball. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. The 40-year-old isn’t one to believe in the modern phrase of a ‘philosophy,’ he just plays to the team’s strengths and what is in front of him as stated by an interview with The Star.

“Their tactical choice was to play direct but they didn’t want us to play football. It took us 30 minutes to find a good way on the ball and that’s a long time. You have to realise that you need to put in more effort & be more aggressive.”

– Phillip Cocu, Derby County manager following a 1-1 draw at Pride Park this month.

‘Adapting’ seems to be the buzzword, probably a strange concept to consider given the current era of tippy-tappy pressing football which managers seem to persist with over, and over, again until it pays off.

That didn’t quite work for Nathan Jones at Stoke City, who labelled Monk’s tactics as ‘very basic’ after they were defeated 1-0. It’s a funny old game, football. He didn’t last much longer at the helm of the Staffordshire side, so maybe he should have learned a thing or two instead of taking a swipe at the Owls chief.

“We know we have to do both sides of the game. Today, particularly the way Sheffield play – which is no better or no worse than any other style, it’s their style – you’ve got to be good at doing the dirty side of the game.There’s always going to be that chance, particularly with the way Sheffield Wednesday play, of giving up opportunities.”

– Steve Cooper, Swansea City boss after they drew 2-2 with the Owls in November.

Monk wanted to shore up his defence, and that’s something he’s done to great detail as the side rank third in the division for fewest goals conceded.

‘Dirty’ is the word of choice from Swansea boss Steve Cooper, but again, how wrong he is. Sir Alex Ferguson once said that ‘attack wins you games and defence wins you titles’ – well, who is ahead of who in the Championship currently, Steve?

Calling all Premier League experts: Who do these unique statistics belong to? Find out below….

In addition, ‘direct’ was the term used by struggling Derby County boss Phillip Cocu. The south Yorkshire men have bagged ten goals in their last four matches. Target man Steven Fletcher has even notched 12 goals for the season, whatever it is, it’s working.

And thus, Monk deserves praise for what he’s been able to achieve to date at Hillsborough. He inherited the entire squad from his preceding managers and has got them competing for the playoffs. It’s as simple as that.

These bitter post-match remarks about his style are mere frustration. Wednesday have a new and dangerous identity.

Meanwhile, in other Owls news, Sheffield Wednesday can begin squad overhaul by signing this 10-goal lower league ace…