Evatt: Embrace The Opportunity

Ian Evatt hopes his side can be record breakers when they go to table-topping Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.

Wanderers face a Wednesday side which hasn’t tasted defeat in League One since 4 October.

That adds up to a club-best run of 22 games for the Owls, who have climbed to the summit of the division as title favourites.

Darren Moore’s side will be chasing a 14th home league win of the season but Evatt sees the trip to Hillsborough as a chance to spring a surprise in Wanderers' bid to stay up with the play-off pace.

“Massive credit to Darren for what they’ve achieved this season. Breaking a club record is always fantastic,” said the Whites’ boss.

“But with every record it becomes a challenge. And for us that record provides us with an opportunity – an opportunity to go and end it.

“The players have to embrace that. We want to do it. We know it’s going to be as tough as it gets and, again, we’re looking forward to the game.

“Football sometimes gives you opportunities and this is another opportunity for us.

“This is a team, I believe, who are on the best run in world football at the moment, have broken a club record for undefeated games, top of our league, playing extremely well with a  brilliant squad of players, hugely mature, hugely experienced, so no-one really gives us a prayer.

“But I quite like that and hopefully we can embrace the opportunity to go there and cause an upset.”

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Wanderers will be looking for a first win in four games as they head towards an international break and then their Wembley final against Plymouth Argyle in the Papa Johns Trophy sitting sixth in the table.

Wednesday will provide the toughest of tests as Evatt’s men face one of the division’s biggest spenders for the second week in a row.

Ipswich left the University of Stadium with maximum points a week ago with a repeat of the 2-0 win Sheffield Wednesday enjoyed last August.

But the Whites are looking to bridge that gap as they continue to develop under Evatt in their second season in League One.

“This is a process and a journey for us and another learning experience,” he added.

“Every time we play in these big games the learning takes place and hopefully we’ll get better and improve.

“For now, it’s about the game on Friday and how we do better than we did earlier in the season against them and how we improve on our performance level from last Saturday.

“If we can do that, I think we’ve got good enough players to cause any team a problem, regardless of if they’re top of the league or anywhere else; just concentrate on ourselves and hopefully bring out the best in us.”

Watch the manager's full pre-match interview in the video above

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