‘I’ll be honest…’ - Pol Valentin putting in work to show Sheffield Wednesday fans his quality

The 26-year-old arrived at Hillsborough towards the latter end of his rehabilitation after an injury last season, and just over two months after joining the Owls the man that signed, Xisco, was relieved of his duties as manager.

It was a situation that left him with concerns over his future, no doubt internal questions on whether he made the right decision or not, but the former Sporting Gijon man backed his own ability and has played a key part in the club’s recent upturn in fortunes under Danny Röhl.

“I’ll be honest, in the beginning when Xisco left I was a little bit scared,” the defender admitted to The Star. “Because he was the one who signed me… When you’re a player from outside the country, if the club got an English coach then maybe it would be more difficult for me because he may try to put English players in. So I was a little scared, but I know I’m a good player and knew if I worked hard and trained hard, and if I played like I did against Middlesbrough or the second game of the Carabao Cup then I would play.

“You can’t come to England and go, ‘I will be in the XI in the first day’. You need to accept that things happen, that you need time to adapt to the league and the language, to the style, because you’re new and nobody knows you or what you can do on the pitch… So I tried to be calm, tried to give myself time.”

But it wasn’t just the mental side of things that he worked on, Valentin says. After noting the increase in physicality and intensity in England he set to work getting himself up to speed – something that he feels is now reaping reward after starting both of their recent wins against Preston North End and Hull City.

“I’m doing extra work every day in the gym with Rob (Lee), Antonio (Quintela) and the physios,” he explained. “But honestly, last season I finished with a big injury, so when I came here without a preseason I was in the final stages of my recovery.

“And my best attribute is my physical one, I’m fast. So if I don’t have that then maybe I don’t feel like Pol. So it was hard in the beginning because I needed to do a lot of extra work, but now I’m starting to feel like the player I am. Hopefully I can show to the fans and the club what player I am.”