The decision to hang up my boots is not a knee-jerk reaction to being relegated from the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday or something I have taken lightly. I made my mind up six months ago.

I have had a great career, but when it got to the stage with the Owls where we were not winning, the enjoyment just went out of it for me.

Not enjoying something you love is a strange feeling and it was getting on top of me.
It is frustrating because you are giving it everything every week and each defeat hits you hard and it is not only the football that suffers but your family life and everything else.

Heartbreak for Sheffield Wednesday fans relegated to League One (getty images)

Losing the enjoyment was the mental reason to stop playing but the other reason I decided to retire was that my body was not recovering as quickly as I would like after games. The effort really took its toll.

Being a footballer is so different to any other career. I always said to myself that I wanted to get to 35 and still be playing. That was my target when I started out as a young footballer, so I have no regrets.

I'm 36 in August and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't sad or disappointed to be finishing, because football has been great to me. It is all I have known since starting off as a schoolboy at Manchester United.

The thing I have to get my head around is that a huge chunk of my life has moved on. It is a matter of opening new doors now.

I have really enjoyed doing this blog, it has been a bit of a relief writing about the whole season and how it has panned out - although it would have been better to write more pieces about us winning!

I have also really enjoyed reading all of your replies, whether they were good or bad, I didn't mind. I hope my replies were OK.

So I guess the question is what does a professional footballer do when they retire?
For me, I have done work for BBC Radio 5 live and thoroughly enjoy that and the media side is something I will pursue because football is all I have known so I would like to stay involved.

Over the summer I have got the World Cup to keep me busy and I will watch as many games as I can. It would be nice to work over there, so if there is anyone reading this blog I am open for enquiries!

The other thing a lot of retired players tend to go into is coaching, but that has never been for me. I started doing my badges when I was at Blackburn with one of our coaches, Neil Bailey, but then he left to join Sunderland.

I do enjoy the day in, day out of training and will really miss being with the lads, but I am not the sort of person who can do coaching exams for four years plus I do not think it is necessary. Surely if you have been in the game for 20 years you know most things already.

Some people decide to leave the game altogether when they retire - that won't be me, I will go to as many games as possible. I look forward to going to watch Sunderland because I have missed visiting the Stadium of Light over the years.

I will certainly miss playing football but, with the season only recently finished, it has not really sunk in yet.

However, I do know that when the 1 July comes around and I am stuck at home, that is when it will hit home - that is when I will miss it.

Everyone talks about pre-seasons and it is true they do not get any easier but I was very fortunate throughout my career with injuries and never missed a pre-season from the age of 15.
Having said that, I spoke to Wednesday manager Alan Irvine and he told me they will be having a very tough pre-season. I had to be honest and tell him I would not miss that part.

>Happy days: Scoring for Sunderland against Birmingham in 1997(getty images)

I wished Alan all the best, though. He is a great man and I really hope he gets Sheffield Wednesday back up into the Championship. They deserve to be there and Alan should be there too because he is first class.

Deciding to retire does make you cast your mind back to the good times - and the bad.
It is hard to pick out a few high points as there have been so many.

The promotions to the Premier League with Sunderland under Peter Reid were extra special - we got the new stadium and were playing in front of 48,000 every week, which was incredible.

My three England caps were really special and will live with me forever, no-one can take them away.

With Blackburn we got into the Uefa Cup for three years in a row, at Celtic I played for an amazing club in the Champions League and then there were the other fantastic clubs I played for - all of which were a privilege.

The lows were missing the penalty for Sunderland against Charlton in 1998 in the then First Division play-off final against Charlton at Wembley. It was 6-6 and I had the penalty to keep us in the competition and, being a local boy, the pain of missing that was huge. But I would like to think I came back a better person because of that.

The other low is relegation with Sheffield Wednesday. It was such a shame because I loved working there and although the rapport I had with the fans will live on, it was a really sad way to bow out.

Just finally I would like to say I have really appreciated the support I have had from all of the fans over the years, at every club I have been to.

I would really like to thank everyone for reading this blog and all of the replies you sent.
I have had really good time writing for you this season and the money I have been paid for the blog has all gone to the Children's Hospital charity so hopefully it will have helped youngsters too.

The stakes could not be higher: if we win, we stay in the Championship; if we don't, Palace stay up. Either way, one set of fans, staff and players will be elated while the other will be facing up to life in League One next season.

To say it's been a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings in the past week barely comes close to describing the last few days.

We went to Cardiff last Saturday needing a win to guarantee that we would still be in with a shout of survival on the last day. We were 1-0 up, then 2-1 down but came back to 2-2 before Jay Boothroyd grabbed a winner for Cardiff.

The defeat meant we were relying on results elsewhere to keep us in with a chance and it was a crushing feeling. We played well at times but just switched off defensively too often. The players took it really hard and we were all devastated afterwards.

You could see the pain on the fans' faces too and we really felt for them. It's not a nice feeling when you're staring down the barrel of relegation and once we saw the other results on the day we knew that we would be down if Crystal Palace were to beat West Brom on Monday. Knowing that our fate wasn't in our own hands at that point was horrible.

Our gaffer, Alan Irvine, went down to watch the game live, which must have been weird for him, especially as he used to play for Palace. But that's his job and he needed to know exactly what we would be up against this Sunday.

Most of our players watched the game on TV but I had the strange experience of getting updated via BBC Radio 5 live. I had previously committed to doing a radio show with Mark Clemmit and Mark Chapman so I couldn't see the game but they kept giving me updates and asking for my reaction.

It was odd finding out that way and West Brom seemed to have loads of chances on goal but I was massively relieved at the final whistle because the 1-1 draw meant we still have one last chance to stay up.

All of our players were delighted to get that opportunity and we're determined not to let this chance go. There was a buzz about the training ground on Tuesday but we were quickly told by the gaffer that it was vital to focus all our energy on that final game and not repeat the mistakes that were made at Cardiff. We will need to be fully prepared for the game because our whole season rides on this last match.

I have had a long career but I've never known a game like this. There was one season at Sunderland when I was only about 19 when we could have gone down to the third tier on the last day of the season. We played Notts County on the last day of the 1992-93 season and even though we lost 3-1 we eventually stayed up by just one point.

Crystal Palace missed the chance to secure their Championship status on Monday

I said then that I never wanted to be in that situation again but this match on Sunday is different in that both of the teams that could go down are facing each other on the same pitch. You usually expect to have results elsewhere affecting your fate in this situation but there is none of that in this game - it's either us or Palace.

After Monday's result at Palace we sold more than 7,000 home tickets in less than 24 hours and the match was completely sold out five days before the game. That just shows how big a club Sheffield Wednesday are.

Our supporters have stuck with us all through this difficult season and we will do everything we can now to repay their commitment with the result that everyone here wants on Sunday.

Sheffield Wednesday command a support which is of Premier League stature, never mind the Championship. The fans don't deserve to see the club in the third tier and nobody at Hillsborough wants that to happen.

We have had some big crowds this season and there will probably be about 36,000 at Hillsborough on Sunday, while the game is also live on BBC One/BBC HD from 1240 BST.

As a player, appearing in a game like this should be an occasion to relish. The pressure will be on but we are confident that we can deliver. We have some good players and experienced characters but we will all have to draw on everything that we have to make sure we get the right result.

When it comes down to it, the whole season rests on this last 90 minutes of football and we are all prepared to do what is necessary for this club. Hopefully we can finish the game looking forward to another season in the Championship.

The Sheffield derby is always a huge occasion and, with more than 35,000 fans at Hillsborough last Sunday, the atmosphere was electric. The supporters helped us to a 1-1 draw - the fans had been looking forward to the game as much as the players - and the occasion certainly didn't disappoint. It wasn't pretty, that's for sure, but derbies rarely are.

The way the game unfolded made us feel that we should have taken all three points, but unfortunately Lee Williamson fired in a free-kick off the back post to cancel out Darren Potter's first-half goal. It was gut wrenching for us, to be honest, but if you look at the match as a whole you would probably say a draw was a fair result. Neither team really took their chances.

It was a proper, old-fashioned kind of derby, not so much like modern-day football where you get the ball down and play. There was a lot of hustle and bustle, with tackles flying in, but the crowd certainly appreciated that. When the fans see you getting stuck in, they really get behind you. I wasn't on the pitch so I could hear a lot more of the noise. It really was impressive.

Wednesday-United is a fixture for which no player needs any extra inspiration to give of their all. It's the first game you look for when the fixture list comes out. For it to come around so close to the end of the season, with so much at stake for Wednesday, gave it an even greater sense of occasion. I thought the lads gave a great account of themselves and the work ethic was terrific.

The rub of the green probably went against us a bit and we missed out on three crucial points. But it was a stirring and gritty display, just what we need at this stage of the campaign as games are running out.

Our manager, Alan Irvine, told us before kick-off how big the game was. He said we'd all played in derby games before, and, therefore knew what it was all about. He wanted us to give the bragging rights to the Wednesday supporters, so the lads knew they had to give everything that they'd got.

We've got a lot more to play for than Sheffield United at the moment. They can't get into the play-offs so their season is effectively over. But they tried to put a dent in our chances of remaining in the Championship. They looked to frustrate us on the pitch but I thought our team dealt with that well.

The Blades equalised when a free kick from Lee Williamson (not pictured) sailed straight in

Now we go to Cardiff needing a result to be sure that the relegation scrap will go down to the final day of the season. We need to approach Saturday's match in exactly the same way as we did the derby. It's a huge, huge game for us again. We know what we need to do now and we have to give everything to make sure we stay up.

When he took over, the manager said he thought it may go down to the last game and it certainly looks like that is on the cards. We play Crystal Palace at home in our final game and a big crowd could make a massive difference for us. But first we have to get something out of our trip to south Wales.

Cardiff have qualified for the play-offs but if anyone thinks they might take their foot off the gas, then they should think again. Last season, we played them on the final day and they needed a point to finish in the top six. Some people would say we had nothing to play for because we were mid-table with no chance of going up or going down but we won the game 1-0 and Cardiff didn't get into the play-offs because Preston beat QPR.

For a footballer, it's all about being professional, for both sides. Every game you play in, you want to win. You've got to do the job put in front of you. Cardiff will want to beat Sheffield Wednesday because they are professionals and we want the win for totally different reasons. I'm sure both sides will be going hell for leather, but we have to make sure we win it.

Strangely, our relegation rivals Crystal Palace don't play their penultimate game until Monday, whereas all the other Championship matches take place on Saturday. We just have to focus on our job. We are one point behind Palace with an inferior goal difference so it is all about what we do. If we don't get the result we want at Cardiff, then Palace know if they get something against West Brom they will be practically safe.

We have only lost two of our last nine games but we have had a couple of matches which should have been wins rather than draws. While we are not an easy team to beat right now, we would be a lot closer to safety if we had held out for a couple more victories.

Our supporters have been fantastic all season - home and away - and I expect Owls fans to be just as loud as Cardiff's this weekend, even if they are likely to be outnumbered. We want them to go home with big smiles on their faces and we are going to try to put on the best performance we can.

It's vital to eat the right food, rehydrate and get as much energy back into your body as possible. You have to look after yourself if you are going to give everything you have in such a short timeframe.

After Saturday's game at Queens Park Rangers, we will return to the training ground on Sunday for a 'cool down' session.

Players with any niggling injuries or knocks will be seen to while those that didn't play will be topping up their fitness to make sure they are good to go if called upon for Monday's match at home to Bristol City.

Everyone must be revved up and ready for the games coming up.

The following three days are going to be massive for Sheffield Wednesday. Two wins would put us in a very strong position as far as a scrap with relegation is concerned, but the key is to start with a good result against Rangers.

There is still a bit of a buzz around Loftus Road following Neil Warnock's arrival and they have a very talented squad, so it is bound to be a tough encounter.

Warnock has some talented players at his disposal

I also wanted to comment on Fifa's recent decision not to use video technology in matches. I must say I am disappointed by the stance. The way football is going, with matches much faster than 20 years ago, it seems crazy not to seek help from outside.

Some pundits have raised concerns about the time it would take to show a replay, but I think it could be done and dusted within 30 seconds, the length of time it takes for a free-kick or even a throw-in.

I think goal-line technology should be a priority as it would have the support of a lot of people in the game. It's not as if we want every foul to be analysed or every decision questioned.

I know Uefa is experimenting with extra officials in the Europa League, but I think one referee and an assistant on either touchline is enough.

Just because there are more officials on the pitch doesn't mean mistakes are going to be eliminated. At least if goal-line technology was used, there would be a definitive decision.

You could feel the nerves in the stadium on Wednesday night. It was a massive game against Watford and thankfully we came out on top so everyone associated with Sheffield Wednesday went home with a bit of relief and a smile on their face.

Obviously as players we have got it in the back of our minds that you don't want to lose games in the situation we are in so everyone is a little bit tense. Nobody wants to make a slip that could put us under pressure and which means producing pretty football is not a priority at the moment. It's all about getting results.

We went ahead early in the second half and when Watford scored an equaliser from a very good free-kick you could see in their faces that they would have been happy with a draw. But Luke Varney scored a winner for us in the last five minutes and I have to give our lads credit because it was a great result.

You could see the joy in the faces of everyone on the bench, there was joy in the faces of our players on the pitch and the fans were all delighted. It was great and we were all jumping through hoops when we left the stadium.

Both teams were very tentative in the first half and it was not a great spectacle by any means. It just showed how much tension there was. We were much brighter in the second half and started to create chances, we got at Watford a little bit more and that sparked the crowd into action.

That really spurred us on and even though Watford equalised I was really pleased for Eddie Nolan. It was his first goal in league football so it was a nice thing for him to start his scoring tally. He has been playing here on loan from Preston and has done very well.

I knew him from my Blackburn days when he was a young lad and I knew he had a really good chance to make it as a footballer so it has been good to see how he has been performing at the minute. He's a nice kid and a good addition to our squad.

When we conceded the equaliser I probably thought in the back of my mind that we weren't making things easy for ourselves which has often been the case over recent years at this club. But it was nice to turn things around as most people were thinking we would have to settle for a solitary point again.

Scoring late winners doesn't seem to happen very often at Sheffield Wednesday so you can imagine the emotions in the dressing room afterwards; it was big smiles and a fair bit of relief.

Luke Varney's late winner was a reward for his unbelievable energy. He never stops and he'd chase an empty crisp packet around the stadium if that's what he was asked to do.

It was a great run from him, a great ball in and a great finish so it was good to see both of our loanees get on the scoresheet.

For Watford, Tuesday night would have been gut wrenching.

They're not in great form themselves and are getting dragged into the dogfight. But they have to get over it soon because there will be another game at the weekend.

That's for other people to worry about though because there is little room for sentiment in this business I'm afraid.

Our recent results have shown the character coming through in our squad. Coming back from 2-0 down to get a draw against Preston and scoring a late winner against Watford could be remembered as key moments in our season.

Our first-half performances against Preston and Watford could have been better but in general we have been performing much better recently.

While we are focused on our own jobs it's impossible not to take note of the results around us. With 15 or 16 games to go we started looking at other teams' results.

Manager Alan Irvine has been a breath of fresh air at Sheffield Wednesday

If we'd got a good result ourselves we'd look for the results of the other team around us hoping they'd lost. Going into the Watford game, Scunthorpe had won to move further above us and that made our match even more vital.

Football is on TV 24-7 now, it's in newspapers and it's online. Your friends speak about it and sometimes there is no getting away from it even if you do try to block it all out. Of course we heard about the results in the Tuesday night games.

It's there in the back of your mind but you don't want to talk about it. You push it to the back of your mind when you get to the stadium so you can get on with the job in hand.

It's all about what we do on a matchday in that respect because we can't worry about whether other teams are slipping up or winning games.

We have to get a certain amount of points and until we get those points on the board it doesn't really matter what other teams are doing. We now have seven huge games to go and the sooner we get the points on the board the better.

When you go out on to the pitch you have to block everything else out of your mind and concentrate on the match. But we know everybody is the same, we all go through the same emotions.

It can be a test of patience for us and for the supporters. They just want to see us do well but I'd never criticise anyone for what they say at football matches.

Fans pay a lot of money to attend games throughout the season and they can say what they want. They obviously come to cheer the team along but if things aren't going well they have the right to air their views.

Our gaffer is a passionate man. Alan Irvine has been a breath of fresh air here, as I've said before and as far as I'm concerned he deserves to be coaching in the Championship.

He obviously wants us to get the results we need as quickly as possible so that we can be sure that we will be in the Championship next season. You could see the emotions running through the gaffer on the touchline on Wednesday.

He's usually a man who can just stand on the touchline and watch the players perform for 90 minutes but you can see he is getting dragged into the atmosphere of the game and that just shows the passion he has for being a successful manager.

We beat Leicester at home and drew with Swansea but conceded a late goal at West Brom, which won the match for the Baggies. I could see the disappointment on all of our players faces when they came off the pitch.

That showed the commitment our players have and how far we've come recently, because West Brom are second on merit.

It's never a nice feeling losing the game in the manner we did at Reading but maybe it was the kick up the backside that we needed. We got off to such a great start under Alan Irvine but we knew it was still a big ask to get away from the bottom of the table. We hit the ground running but then we had a blip and lost three games in a row. I don't know if it was because the players became comfortable, which is not the right thing to do, but the Reading result really hit us hard.

The manager had a good talk to us after that game but as players we said to ourselves that just can't happen again because nobody should lose games 5-0 and we never want to have that horrible feeling again. If you are going to lose a game it should never be by that kind of margin. We needed to kick on and put what went wrong at Reading right.

We have gone some way to doing that but there are still nine games left and we have to battle for as many points as we can between now and the end of the season.
After that run of three games against teams in the top six, we went to Preston on Tuesday and came back from 2-0 down to get a 2-2 draw. It was incredible.

I was sat on the bench and you see things a bit differently, but Preston hadn't looked like scoring until they went 1-0 up and I always felt we had a chance to get back in the game.
If we had gone 2-0 down four months ago then it is probably fair to say it would have been game over.

That's all changed now; there's a mentality around the place that we go to the 95th minute, we keep fighting. We came back into the game with a goal from Tommy Miller where the goalkeeper spilled it but maybe we were due some luck.

I was really pleased for Tommy because he has been doing really well in recent weeks. His work rate sometimes goes under the radar but he has done a terrific job. He has spent a lot of this season injured. He's an experienced player now and you can see that helps the team. He deserves a good run after his stop-start spell with injuries, he's great to have around the dressing room too so I am really pleased for him.

Marcus Tudgay scored our second goal within three minutes of Tommy's strike. Marcus has been our top scorer in the last couple of seasons and while he has been playing well recently things haven't quite fallen for him in front of goal. To see him finish with a cool chip over the keeper was great too - he showed great composure because we were behind in the game as he went through one-on-one with Andy Lonergan. Both teams had chances after that but I think a draw was a fair result overall.

Coming from 2-0 down to get a result like that shows that we have got character and the steel has been instilled back into the players. It was great to see, a fantastic comeback but I am hoping we're not trying to come back in games between now and the end of the season but holding on to leads.

It was our gaffer's return to Preston, after he was sacked by them just after Christmas but there was nothing different in the way he approached the game. Having admired Alan Irvine from afar when he was assistant manager at Everton and then manager at Preston, I have been even more impressed with him since he walked through the door here at Sheffield Wednesday.

In the week leading into the game at Deepdale there was no talk of him going back to Preston. It was all about focusing on getting a result. He is very clever at keeping anything peripheral to the game away from the players to make sure our players are fully prepared. After the game it was then straight on to focusing on our next game, at home to Derby County on Saturday.

I can't say it was the same for me when I went back to Sunderland as a Blackburn player - that was very strange. Blackburn were flying high in the Premier League at the time and were set to play Sunderland at Ewood Park over the festive period but the game got cancelled.

I had been getting worked up for the game all week and then it got frozen off so I was a bit disappointed. It was a matter of getting the game out of the way for me because I didn't enjoy that week leading up to the game. But your professional head takes over when the game does come around because you have a job to do. You have to get out there and play for your team.

I was fortunate enough to play against Sunderland twice and Blackburn won both games 1-0. The first one was at Ewood Park and the second was at the Stadium of Light. Going back to Sunderland was a great occasion because I've got a hell of a lot of friends there and I hadn't been back much after leaving so it was nice to go back and thank some of the people who had been so good to me over the years.

It was a weird feeling going back and strange to walk into the away dressing room because everything is totally different. Everyone was shaking my hand and wishing me all the best but it was a game I couldn't wait to be over if I am being honest.

I was a Sunderland fan and had been at the club for so many years but you don't always get the chance to thank people at the club or the fans because you can't go around every individual and thank them. I would like to place on record now my thanks to everyone associated with Sunderland for everything they did for me because that club is a massive part of my life and they gave me my chance in professional football, for which I will always be grateful.

Leading up to that game at the Stadium of Light, the fact that I was playing against my hometown team and my former club did go over in my mind quite a lot. Once the game was out of the way it was more of a relief; Blackburn had won another game and we were moving on to think about our next opponents. At the time we were playing in Europe and the games were coming thick and fast so I didn't have too much time to dwell on the game afterwards.

I started watching Sunderland with my brother when I was about seven. My Nanna lived just around the corner from Roker Park so we would travel down to her house on a Saturday and go to the game from there. The first time I went was in the old Fulwell End and they used to open the gates 15 minutes before the end of the match so I got in on a freebie - how things change!

Later, I started going with my own friends as a teenager and loved soaking up the atmosphere. It was an amazing feeling and one of the first places I went without my parents. It was like going to the city centre without your parents for the first time - you just got that release. I loved it and I think that's how so many kids get sucked into watching this amazing game of football.

It was different watching the game and making comments rather than being involved as a player, but I did enjoy it.

I had done radio a couple of times when I was younger at Sunderland. Back then, you were only allowed three substitutes so if I wasn't on the bench I sometimes helped a local radio station with the commentary. That was over 15 years ago and I didn't have to be impartial then, but I was definitely a neutral for the game at Everton and as I got used to it I really started to enjoy it.

I must admit there were a few nerves as I was about to speak for the first time but I felt that I settled into it and what a great game to start off my radio commentary career! There were plenty of goals flying in and a few incidents in the game such as a missed penalty and hitting the post as Everton won 5-1 so there was plenty to comment on.

Because I was a neutral it was a unique experience; not having any bias to one team or the other. I was watching the game at Goodison and trying not to lean either way in terms of praising one team more than the other but Everton were so dominant throughout the game it was quite difficult to try and build Hull up. I did say that I thought Hull's best chance of scoring would come from a set piece and that turned out to be the case as Tom Cairney scored from a knock-down from a set play. But you could just sense that Everton really wanted to win the game.

Sitting in the press box, rather than on the bench, it was easier to see the tactics unfold and you could pick out how both sides were setting up at the beginning of the game and how that changed as the match went on.

Mikel Arteta of Everton scores the opening goal against Hull City at Goodison Park

Hull started with one up front and then tried to go a little bit more direct when they found themselves 3-1 down later in the game. But it's not just a case of watching the two teams, it's also about watching the managers and how animated they get on the touchline. If you're playing in a game yourself you don't usually see that kind of thing because you're absorbed in your job. But if the fans feel something has gone against their side you can really pick up the atmosphere and the moans and groans from the crowd when you're commentating.

It was a great place to start commentating and I felt privileged because all the people around the Goodison press box made me feel very welcome. When you are in the gantry, with all the fans around you, you can really pick up on what individuals are saying so it was quite interesting to hear that too.

Everton were a joy to watch and there were some really good individual performances. Mikel Arteta was probably the outstanding player on the day and the Everton fans were singing his name which was great to see as he had been out for a long time.

Football can be good at opening doors for you sometimes. I don't know if this blog had some influence on me being invited to work with 5 live but I have also been invited to go on BBC TV for Late Kick-Off the day after we play Sheffield United at Hillsborough so I certainly hope we get the right result in that match! Media work is certainly something I wouldn't discount for when I hang up my boots. I've been in the game a long time now so hopefully I can pass on a valid opinion to radio listeners or people watching on TV.

There has been plenty of talk recently about the standard of pitches. Wembley is one of the pitches that has been replaced several times and it seems to have been a troubled surface. The occasion of going to the old Wembley was quite something. It was exciting just to know that you were going to play at the stadium and then when you had walked out on to the pitch before the games you noticed how flat it was and you couldn't wait to get your boots on and get out there to give it your best shot.

A lot of pitches in the Championship, and the Football League in general have taken quite a hammering this winter because of the terrible winter. I don't think I've seen so many pitches in such a bad state for a long time but the groundsmen have not had the time they need to keep the surfaces the way they want to. Pitches like Arsenal's and Everton's still seem to be superb and West Brom's is still pretty good.

It's always the same for both teams to play on any given surface but any footballer will tell you they want to play on as flat a surface as possible. It is frustrating if a pitch hinders you and at Sheffield Wednesday we like to play good passing football. If you saw us train every day you would see that we pass the ball around really well but our training pitches have held up better than some in stadiums. Sometimes you have to adapt your style of play to the surface you're playing on though and you just have to get out there and give it all you've got to win any game regardless of the pitch conditions.

I have sat out the last couple of games as we beat Leicester at home and lost narrowly at West Brom so I will be hoping to be involved again at Swansea on Saturday. The Leicester game was a tremendous performance, we started really well and never looked like we would lose the game. Then we went to West Brom on Tuesday and produced another great display. We were very organised and didn't look like we were troubled by one of the best teams in the division. That's testament to our players because the concentration and work ethic was there as well as the organisation and determination to get a result.

You could see the disappointment on the players' faces when they came into the dressing room at the end, having conceded a late goal, and I think that shows how far we have come in a short space of time under Alan Irvine. We are now genuinely disappointed when we don't get a result against one of the top three teams in the Championship.

It was well below the level of performance he has come to expect from us. As individuals and as a team, we let him down. He has been a breath of fresh air at Sheffield Wednesday since he walked through the door, so he certainly didn't deserve that.

It was 0-0 after 40 minutes, so for us to concede five goals between the 41st and 71st minutes was just unacceptable. Reading had other chances to score, too, while we had a couple of opportunities ourselves, but the bottom line was our performance was poor.

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I came off at half-time. We were 2-0 down at that stage, so the manager needed to change things around to try to get us back in the game. He could probably have taken anyone off the pitch at that time. He could have pulled the names out of a hat.

Now we just want to put the loss behind us as quickly as possible. You don't want to have to reflect on games like that. It's not nice for the players, it's not nice for the management and it's certainly not nice for the supporters who travelled all the way down to Reading.

It's one thing having a bad day at the office - after all, you don't make mistakes on purpose - but it's a crime if players aren't seen to be running around the pitch. We can't ever let that happen again because we let a lot of people down.

What was said after the game by the manager and the players will remain private. What is said in the dressing room stays there. That's the case not only at Sheffield Wednesday but at every football club. And rightly so.

If Saturday was bad, Sunday was not an enjoyable day either. I was just sitting around at home waiting to go into training on Monday and watch the video of the match. It was a bad weekend all round.

After a great run when the new manager came in, it feels like we are back to square one. Now we have to find the winning formula again very quickly. We all need to show that we are strong characters now. We need to have big hearts and we need courage. All those things have to come to the fore because we will have another big crowd at the weekend and it's important show character at Hillsborough.

Former Preston boss Alan Irvine was appointed in January after the departure of Brian Laws. Photograph: PA

The Sheffield Wednesday fans are very demanding - and rightly so. If we are performing on the pitch then there is no better place to be playing, but if the performances are below what the fans expect then they are going to let you know about it. That's totally right because they pay their money to come through those turnstiles, to see their team perform, and we have to step over that white line and produce for them.

Leicester are our opponents on Saturday and they will be tough opposition. But it doesn't matter who we are playing, we just have to make sure our performances give us every chance of a win. At this point in the season, we have to keep thinking in a really positive way, by everyone rallying around and by showing passion for the blue and white stripes of Sheffield Wednesday.

It was great for football to see Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan paired against Chelsea in Europe's top club competition. I think Mourinho has been a big miss for English football since leaving Stamford Bridge. When he was interviewed on TV or watching his team play, everybody's eyes were fixed on him to see what he was going to do next. Everyone misses his charisma and character.

The first leg at the San Siro was an amazing occasion but I think the return fixture at Stamford Bridge will be even more special.

Mourinho has not lost a home game in seven years, which is almost unthinkable. He has a great squad at Inter and if everybody is fit he has an excellent side. Personally, I think Chelsea might just be a little bit too powerful for them, despite losing the first leg 2-1, but only time will tell. What do you think?

We didn't perform well against Doncaster. That said, they got the ball down and played some very good football. That's not easy to do on our pitch at the moment, so hats off to them. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you were beaten by a better side.

The game against Ipswich was a scrappy affair but it could have gone either way. I had a couple of chances on goal myself, while Marcus Tudgay hit the bar. If one of those had gone in, we would have been confident of winning the game but Ipswich went ahead and we found ourselves chasing the match.

The next 14 games are all going to be 'cup finals'. We have a points target, and the sooner we get to that the better, but we have to be prepared for a long, hard fight to keep the club in the Championship.

On Sunday, I will be watching the Carling Cup final on BBC One. The League Cup is probably the competition that the top four teams have not really taken as seriously as qualifying for the Champions League or winning the FA Cup in recent years. But it should be, given that it is another route into European football.

I think both Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will field strong teams at Wembley. United are out of the FA Cup, so I think they will take the game very seriously, while Villa have enjoyed an excellent season so far and have a great chance to land some silverware.

As for the players, they want to win as many trophies and medals as possible during their careers. Whether it is the final of the League Cup, FA Cup or any other competition, they want to be on the winning side.

Wayne Rooney celebrates his winning goal in the second leg of the semi-final against Manchester City (photo: Getty)

We all know that United are fighting to win every competition they play in, every year. They can never be written off and you would never tip against them winning a major trophy. But they've got injuries, so I think it is a huge opportunity for Villa.

They will have to play with a bit of freedom but O'Neill, who has experience of winning cup finals with Leicester and Celtic, always likes his teams to attack. Both teams like to play attractive football, so I think it's going to be an open game and an entertaining final.

I played in a two-legged semi-final against Manchester United when I was at Blackburn. We drew 1-1 at Ewood Park but my dream of playing in the final ended when we lost 2-1 away. When you draw United in a semi-final, it's hard not to think "here we go again, we've gone so far and then come up against United".

That proved to be the case that year but both of the games were fantastic and great to be involved in. Not many people remember the teams that get to the semi-finals but I have got my memories at least.

Brad Friedel was in goal for Rovers then, so he will get a chance to put the record straight this weekend with Villa. I rate Brad among the best players I have played with and he is the ultimate professional as well as a great goalkeeper.

He is 38 now, still playing at the very top level and looks like he can go on for another two or three years. Blackburn signed him on a free transfer and he was a rare bargain for them. I think Liverpool paid for letting him go because they ended up having problems with goalkeepers until Pepe Reina arrived at Anfield. If they had held on to Brad, he would probably have played for their first team for many years. He really is top drawer.

So good luck to Brad and may the best team win on Sunday. I'll be watching from the comfort of my own home, hopefully having helped Sheffield Wednesday bag three more points.

The play-offs are well established in the Football League and I really don't think they should be introduced to the Premier League.

To me, it wouldn't be fair if your team played a full season of 38 games and finished fourth, but then had to play-off to qualify for the Champions League. I just don't think teams who finish outside the top four should have an opportunity to qualify for Europe's elite club competition.

There is a huge incentive for teams to finish in the top four and players work their socks off all season to get into that position. If a team were to finish fourth and then didn't qualify for the Champions League because they were eliminated in the play-offs it would be very hard to take.

Every game is a big one in the Premier League and I think if you achieve a top-four finish then you are entitled to qualify for the Champions League. The teams finishing fifth to seventh in the Premier League have the right to contest the Europa Cup, which is another big competition, whereas in the Championship you don't qualify for anything else by finishing in the top six.

You get the right to contest a place in the Premier League and the losers get nothing so that is a huge difference between the current set-up in the League and the proposals that have been put forward for the Premier League.

In qualifying for the Champions League you are earning the right to play against the top teams in Europe and some of the best players in the world so I think that it would be wrong to take that opportunity away from players who have worked so hard to finish in the top four.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney scores against AC Milan during their Uefa Champions League (photo: AFP)

The Champions League throws up some huge games and we saw one of those earlier this week when Manchester United won 3-2 at AC Milan. It was an amazing game from the start and you could sense the atmosphere from watching it on TV. Even the build-up to the game was electrifying and the previews start three or four days before the match - they are major events in the sporting calendar. I had to record the game because we were playing against Doncaster Rovers but I watched the match when I got home and it was just incredible.

The Champions League has got bigger and bigger in recent years and I think that will only continue. The level of performance in all of the games is incredible and every match seems to be eye-catching.

I was lucky enough to be involved in a few Champions League matches when I was at Celtic so I have had a little taste of it. To be involved in those games is something special. To play for Celtic in that competition is something I will never forget - not just the home games but the away games as well. They had something different; there was a sense of being involved in something extra special. Other than playing for your country, playing in the Champions League has to stand out as a career high for me.

We played Anderlecht and won 3-1. As the team walked out at Celtic Park the atmosphere was immense. The atmosphere is always impressive at Celtic but walking out of that tunnel knowing you were going to be involved in a Champions League game produced an incredible mix of nerves and adrenaline. It was an unbelievable feeling and it brings the best out of everybody; not only the players but the fans, and the build-up in the days beforehand has a real sense of occasion too.

Personally, I am not that bothered about watching loads of football on TV every week. Dare I say it, I think there is probably too much football on now. We are probably going to get to the stage where you can watch your own team on TV every single week with the way things are heading. That may be a good thing for some fans but clubs could see a knock-on effect on crowds and nobody would want that.

I always look forward to watching the big games, like when Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool face each other. I guess that's why I love the Champions League too because they always seem to be huge games with the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. I never want to miss those games. It's been great seeing the English teams getting into the latter stages of the Champions League too so that has made it even more intriguing. I also got to see Manchester United host Real Madrid at Old Trafford and it was something extra special to watch.

Back to life in the Football League, we are still embroiled in a relegation dogfight at Sheffield Wednesday. The Championship is a fascinating division this year. You can win one week and be looking up at the top half of the table. Then you can lose your next game and you're looking over your shoulder.

When Brian Laws was in charge at the beginning of the season we were within touching distance of the play-off places. Then we went on a terrible run when we struggled to score, let alone get a result, and quickly found ourselves in the bottom three. We fought our way out of that and we know that we will be scrapping until the end of the season. It was great to win five out of seven matches when Alan Irvine first came through the door and we don't want that to slip-up now because everybody is enjoying themselves and our fans have been fantastic.

In this situation you have to do your own jobs first and foremost. We know what our own targets are and how many wins we need for safety but sometimes you can't get away from looking at the league table and seeing how the teams around you are doing. If you tried to steer away from what is going on elsewhere in the division then one of your team-mates would tell you the results so you have to accept that. But our focus is on the job of getting results for Sheffield Wednesday. If we do that then there it doesn't matter what other teams do.

When he came in, he had a long chat with the players and told us what he expects from us in his own way. He obviously got his point across because we started winning straight away.

Alan is very astute, he doesn't leave any stone unturned in preparing for matches and he doesn't leave anything to chance. I think that is the way it has to be because then we all know where we stand. He doesn't like it when players slack off and he never slacks off himself. The standards have been set so high that we don't want to let them drop.

With the victory over Blackpool on Tuesday night, we've now won five of our last seven matches. But we mustn't let our standards drop because there are still plenty of games to be won in the remainder of the season. We've got some tough, tough games coming up and we have to prepare right for them.

The gaffer is a gentleman, but he is also someone who will give you every opportunity to try to win games. We've been reaping the rewards of all the effort that we've been putting in and it's a great place to be at the moment. It's been a joy to come in for training every day and, because of the results, the players have all got smiles on their faces. The results have also seen us climb out of the bottom three, and we have to keep on winning so we don't slip back into the relegation zone again.

On Tuesday night, we paid tribute to Corporal Liam Riley, who lost his life in Afghanistan last week. It's important that we remember the incredible work that our armed services do overseas and the difficult times that soldiers' families go through.

Liam showed immense bravery - he was killed by a roadside bomb while trying to save his friend and fellow soldier Lance Corporal Graham Shaw. Liam was only 21 and it is such a tragic situation. He was also a massive Sheffield Wednesday fan, like everyone in his family, so when I was asked to wear a T-shirt in the warm-up I felt it was a real honour. It puts football in its place when people are losing their sons or a member of their family.

I wore a T-shirt in tribute to Liam Riley

We can't really comprehend what Liam's family must be going through, but if we can make a small gesture in honouring him and help put a smile on their faces, then it's nice to do that. A few of the family and friends were waiting to take photos of me in the T-shirt during the warm-up, so I ran over to where so they could get a decent picture. I also know that the fact that we picked up three points against Blackpool that night would have cheered up his family and friends.

All of our soldiers show immense courage in their line of duty and it's sad to hear about the losses, not only of British soldiers, but all of those who are wounded or killed in war. The Football League is now supporting Help for Heroes as their nominated charity this season and I think that's a really good move. Sheffield Wednesday's Help for Heroes game will take place against Leicester on 6 March, another game in which we will recognise our armed forces. Many servicemen are football fans as well, so it's nice when TV shows like Soccer AM recognise our soldiers, airmen and naval officers. A lot of footballers and fans watch that programme and I know those things go down really well with the families of those on service abroad.

What we can do is only a little gesture in the grand scheme of things but hopefully it helps the troops and their families.

The Owls pay an emotional tribute to Liam before the match

Another gesture that our club has made in the past year has been giving the shirt sponsorship to The Children's Hospital in Sheffield. Sheffield Wednesday became the first club in the League to do this and we have helped The Children's Hospital Chairty raise £75,000 in the past 12 months, which will help them buy some state-of-the-art equipment to treat kids from around the country.

Nearly every team visits their local hospital before Christmas and gives out presents to the kids so that is really nice. Sheffield Wednesday seem to have taken that a step further, and we try to do as much as we can for The Children's Hospital. We have donated money from every replica shirt sold - and that alone has raised more than £20,000 for them. I also decided that the fee from this blog should go to The Children's Hospital - it's not a big gesture from me but anything that helps put a smile on the kids' faces has to be a good thing.

I know the kids appreciate it, too, because you can see the look on their faces when a player walks in wearing the Sheffield Wednesday tracksuit. We might be their heroes, so it's good to give something back. If it helps them in any way in their recovery, or to lift their spirits, then that is great and it's very rewarding for us, too.

It's a privilege for us to have hospital logo on our shirts and it's a great gesture from a club as big as Sheffield Wednesday. Hopefully, it will start the ball rolling with a few other clubs because it has been a really positive experience for both parties.

Back to the football side of things, we have a rare Saturday off this weekend (we were set to play West Brom but they're still in the FA Cup) but two big home games next week - a South Yorkshire derby against Doncaster on Tuesday and then Ipswich on Saturday. They are two other teams in the relegation battle and we have to keep focused and work hard to get the results we need.

Nothing has been achieved yet and there's still a lot of hard work to be done between now and the end of the season. The target is about 53 points, we are still some way off that but we want to get to that as soon as we can.

Hopefully we can keep the momentum from Tuesday's 2-0 win over Blackpool. We were 1-0 up at half time thanks to a James O'Connor header and then your hero and mine, Darren Potter, stepped up with a fine second goal early in the second half - and guess what, no tache! Potts has been in brilliant form and deserved to top his performance off with a great finish. Who knows, maybe the razor will remain in use for the remainder of the season and he could finish as top scorer! It was obviously a team performance, though, and we never really looked like conceding so we will be trying our best to perform in that vein for every match.

We've had five matches in just two weeks but at least we won four of them!

It's not just the effort the players have put in physically, it's the mental strain as well. Three of the five games were against teams in and around us at the bottom of the Championship. The intensity is the same for both sides and it does take that little bit extra out of you.

It was only a matter of weeks ago when we were in the relegation zone. It's very, very stressful in that position and believe me, not a nice place to be. You can see in training that the atmosphere is not the way you would like it to be so the four wins have been a bit of a godsend. You can see the change in the mood in the camp, it's now a more relaxed environment.

The big question mark around the place has gone and we have our resolve back. Take last Saturday, when we faced a six-pointer against Plymouth. The game was huge and we were desperate to put some daylight between ourselves and another team near the bottom.

It was vitally important that we got a positive result and although the performance wasn't the best, the result was everything. The pitch at Hillsborough isn't in its best condition because of the bad weather so we had to really battle and win ugly, as the manager said after the game.

We went a goal behind and came back to win - that is something that has hardly been mentioned but to us, it was massive. It's the first time this season that we've fallen behind before coming back to win and that says a lot about the resolve we have at the minute. The determination is there for everyone to see and it needs to stay.

Every result on a Saturday dictates your mood on a Saturday night, good or bad. Players are just like supporters really, we leave the stadium with a big smile after a win and feel terrible after a defeat, especially when you are playing in front of supporters as loyal as those at Sheffield Wednesday.

We had an attendance of over 22,000 for the Plymouth game, which was a relegation battle and that crowd was higher than the gate at West Brom, who are chasing automatic promotion. So when we lose, the players feel for the fans and look forward to the next game to get that defeat out of the system.

It's difficult all round after a defeat, because all you want to do is go home and run over what happened, could I have done this better, could I have done that better? So when we were in a really sticky patch earlier in the season, it was not pleasant. You feel as if you've let yourself down, the fans down, but before you leave the stadium to face the supporters waiting outside, there is always the possibility of media work to do.

Media duties these days are an essential part of a footballer's role off the pitch because the profile of the game has gone through the roof. Journalists want the juicy stories and quotes, they are not too fussed if you have won, drawn or lost. The media requests for interviews are there quite literally the minute you step out of the dressing room door and have to be dealt with.

The requests are all done through our media team at the club and post-match interviews are not compulsory for players. But as an experienced member of the squad, I don't like to say no if I am asked because I think the fans have a right to hear a player's point of view.

Of course, it's a lot easier to talk about a win to the media than it is a defeat. When you're in the middle of a bad run of results and form - like we were not long ago when we couldn't score a goal, never mind win a game - the media inevitably report the negatives. And when you are being interviewed, you have to choose your words very carefully.

How can you put a different slant on saying we need to turn things around? When it doesn't turn around, you find yourself saying the same things week in, week out and what you do say can lose its impact. It's all part and parcel of the game but a side of football that the fans don't get to see, so it's good to have a platform such as this to give you a little insight.

Football is a massively stressful game for the fans and the players feel it too. That's why when we do get time off in the season, it is very much appreciated. I try and do stuff with my kids as much as possible, and something a little different from run of the mill things. That way, I can switch off from football, which is really important.

I recently took the kids to a place in Manchester called Challenge For Change, which was essentially a climbing day for the kids to enjoy. They really took to it and the guys there were just fantastic, the whole day helped me relax and take my mind away from the football.

People say to me that you must relax after a game, when you can let your hair down a little. But that's not for me, I don't go out partying on Saturday nights. I've got my mind set on playing for as long as I can and that would not be possible if I burned the candle at both ends.

If I get two or three days off, I try and get away, even if it's just down to London to see a show. Football is 24/7 these days, so it's vital to take the opportunities to take a break when the fixture list allows.

The summer is different because that's the only time of year when you can totally switch off. I've been to the same hotel for the last couple of years, the Elysium in Cyprus. It's absolutely fantastic and there's a guy there, Kratinos, who keeps in touch with me throughout the season. He always reads these blogs as well, so I'm sure he'll have a smile on his face when he sees his name mentioned in this one!

It's silly season in the media - not as frantic as the summer window, but still the back pages are full of transfer stories that serve their purpose and sell newspapers.

I don't mind the transfer window because it generates so much interest for the supporters and creates a buzz across the game. Even at clubs where there is little or no chance of transfer activity, fans still stay focused on the window all the way through until it finally closes, just in case the chairman finds some cash to splash at the 11th hour!

There are arguments for and against it, particularly in January. A lot of people say you should establish your set squad at the beginning of the season and that should see you through until May.

But the January window gives managers the chance to bring in some new blood if things aren't going right and fresh impetus is needed. The classic example last season was James Beattie - he made a fantastic impact at Stoke when he signed from Sheffield United and it could be argued that his goals kept Stoke in the Premier League.

Without that opportunity, Stoke would not have been able to move for Beattie, they may have been relegated and that would have been a nightmare for the club. So if you ask Tony Pulis, I'm sure he would say the January window is a good thing. But if you ask other managers - those who lose key players in the window period for example - they might say the opposite.

When I first started playing, there was no transfer window and players could move at any time of the year. If that system was in place now, there would be a real danger you would see players moving all the time and it could be chaos in the transfer market, with managers struggling to find continuity. The profile of the game has never been higher and there have never been so many agents in football. Can you imagine the frenzy if there was no transfer window? Managers would barely have time to manage!

In many ways, the January window is a necessity and it would be vastly unfair if that opportunity to strengthen wasn't there, particularly for clubs with smaller squads. If you have injuries and need to bring in someone to fill the gap it's important. Not every club uses it but the important thing is that the facility is there.

From a player's perspective, I think most would rather move in the summer. Going into a club at pre-season stage is like joining with a clean slate, it's a fresh start ahead of a new campaign. You go on the pre-season tour, which is a fantastic way to get to know your new team-mates, you go through all the pre-season training together and you gel as a squad.

If you move in January, you are basically thrown in at the deep end, and that's whether you are brought in to boost a winning team or be the lifeline for a struggling side. The pressure is there either way. You might get two or three days training before you're expected to start performing miracles.

The manager will know everything about the player's ability before he arrives, but does he know his mental strength? Will he gel straight away, because that's what he will have to do. Will he make the impact expected of him? How will he react if he doesn't?

These are all relevant questions on the back of any transfer but they are magnified in the January window. So without question, there is far more pressure on players moving in January than those that move in the summer.

But what if a player is unhappy at a club, say just a couple of months into the season? Is it right to hold him to that club for a whole season when his career - and a short career at that - could suffer drastically as a result, in turn affecting his earning power? The January window offers a way out and many players have taken it.

On the other hand, the player might want to stay but the manager will effectively force his hand by saying, "you can stay but you're not going to be involved". What does a player do then? If you have anything about you, with a desire to play first-team football, you have to try and go, even if it's initially on loan.

I have a lot of admiration for players who are willing to move on loan. It's not easy going into a completely different working environment, especially when you are expected to make an instant impression when the fans automatically think you are better than the club has already got.

The first time I moved was when I went to Celtic on loan in 2003. Sunderland were suffering financial problems at the time and from what I remember, I would say six to eight players, who were on what was considered to be a high wage, were taken into the manager's office and told it was going to be difficult to keep us at the club.

It was taken out of our hands and I had the opportunity to go to Celtic, which turned out to be absolutely fantastic. Through that move came the chance to go to Blackburn, so it worked out pretty well for me. I'd been at Sunderland for over 12 years playing in the first team but I absolutely loved it at Celtic. I considered myself fortunate because it could easily have gone the other way for me and through no fault of my own.

If a player is unhappy at any situation, he can put in a transfer request. There do not seem to be so many transfer requests reported these days and I think that is because transfers can be engineered in different ways by different people without handing in an official request.

But it does happen and naturally, the lads are going to talk - a player can't keep that to himself! Questions will be asked in the dressing room, of course they will. Not in a nasty way, but you do ask the questions and whether a player gives you the right answers or not, that's entirely up to him.

It can be upsetting in the camp if a popular player or one of the best players wants to leave. Or vice versa, if the player who has put in a request doesn't get on with the rest of the lads, then it might be a good thing. I haven't experienced that personally but it does happen.

So there are many things to consider before passing a true judgement on transfer windows. What does the future hold? Who knows, but what is for sure is that transfers are part and parcel of the game and help the football world go round.

We've just had two wins in a week away from home, against Barnsley and Blackpool, both of which were very tough games on paper and naturally, we are all absolutely delighted with that return.

The new manager, Alan Irvine, has come in and had an immediate effect on everyone at the football club and I think that has been totally evident in his two games in charge so far.

So this week, I thought I would try and offer an insight into how a change at the top can trigger a major turn in fortune on the pitch. What is said in the dressing-room stays in the dressing-room but I will try and scratch the surface a little on this subject that so often comes around in the game.

Burnley, Bolton and Preston all had new managers in place as well as ourselves but they each lost their games so that goes to show that a mere change is not enough to turn the tide straight away.

So what has happened at Hillsborough? Well, first and foremost, the new manager has asked for and got the reaction he wanted. Alan walked in and set us targets and made it perfectly clear that we can expect nothing but hard work between now and the end of the season. He told us what we need to do and what he expects from us as players.

Alan Irvine spent two seasons in charge of Preston before taking the Wednesday job

The key thing here is that everyone has responded. Not just individuals but the whole team, to a man. There's just a new freshness about us and from what I have seen so far, everyone seems very impressed.

The fans have played their part too and that has rubbed off on the players. Alan received a great reaction from our fans at Barnsley and they carried it over to Blackpool on Tuesday. Clichéd it may be, but any player will tell you that criticism when you're playing doesn't help anyone. So to see the fans react so positively has been sensational.

We scored inside three minutes at Oakwell and I looked up to see the amazing sight of nearly 5,000 Wednesday fans quite literally bouncing in Barnsley. It was an absolutely incredible moment and believe me, the boost and the buzz something like that gives you is just indescribable.

It gives you that extra spur on. There's no better feeling than hearing your fans singing for 90 minutes and the reason they are doing that is because their team is playing well and giving everything they have got so they are simply doing the same. Simple really.

The bottom line is that sometimes it clicks straight away with new managers and sometimes it doesn't. I remember when Mark Hughes came into Blackburn when I was playing there, the reaction was instant and he went on to take us into the top six. He changed the shape of the team and the formation and - I can't emphasise this enough - the team, as a team, responded.

There is no magic dust to sprinkle around the place, it is a combination of experience, nous and good old-fashioned hard work. In our case, everything is gelling at the moment because Alan has got the reaction he wanted and that is vital. You can see everyone putting that little bit extra into training and then into matches.

It was quite clear the moment Alan walked in the door that we are dealing with the ultimate professional who leaves no stone unturned and nothing to chance. We go through absolutely everything and if it goes wrong in matches, we cannot blame the manager, we can only blame ourselves. We do have a lot to take in but it switches you on and gets you 100 per cent ready for the game.

I think it's been plain to see in his first two games that we have looked a lot more organised and our fitness levels have been phenomenal, we have given everything.

Come into the dressing-room at half-time and you will see that we are ready for the break but at the same time ready to get back out there and play. That's a pretty good combination in my book.

Consequently, the confidence is coming back. It's no secret that we've hardly been high on confidence this season and the only way to change that was by winning games. We have won two in four days, come out of the relegation zone along the way, and that alone has given us a major shot in the arm.

From standing at the bottom of a huge hill, we're now up and running. We're not over the top just yet but we're showing that we're giving everything we can to get out of this situation. The fans are sticking with us and it's been fantastic so far.

We don't want this feeling to ebb away and you can see everyone looking forward to the training, never mind the games.

We have the first home game under Alan this weekend and we want to get off to a great start at Hillsborough under the new manager.

We have set ourselves a standard and it's up to all of us - the players, the manager, the coaching staff, to keep those same standards and not let them drop.

So I would close by saying to our fans: get down to Hillsborough on Saturday and see the difference for yourself.

We've got a new manager at Sheffield Wednesday and I think Alan Irvine is a great appointment for the club. Alan was named as the new gaffer last Friday and the players got to meet him for the first time the following day.

We had been set for a weekend off because the snow and ice caused so many postponements but the manager wanted to get us all out on the training ground as quickly as possible.

Before training, we had a meeting at which he came across really well. It was very positive and he certainly had everybody's attention when he was speaking - and that bodes well for the future because the club have clearly appointed someone who is very hungry.

I knew Alan from his Everton days and a few of our players know the lads at Preston so we've also had feedback from them on what he's like, about his training sessions and the way he treats players and all of it has been good.

To be honest, from what I've seen so far, everything that I heard before seems totally true. He is a gentleman and his coaching so far has been great; very enjoyable and probably something different to what the lads have had in the past.

It's easy to say it but I am sure good results will follow. He had a tall order when he started at Preston but they won nine out of 14 games to secure safety and then went on to get into the play-offs the next season.

We have to set ourselves up in a similar way and achieve the targets the new manager has set us between now and the end of the season. I'm not saying what those targets are but they have certainly helped us focus on the training ground and that should translate into getting the results we need on matchdays.

Alan Irvine has a local derby against Barnsley for his first game in charge at Hillsborough

Alan is certainly a training ground manager, he's not the kind who is happy to sit in an office while his coaching staff do the work. He is very hands-on and gets his points across in his own way, which he has obviously done throughout his career as a top coach in the Premier League.

The new gaffer has also made a point of having individual meetings with all the players. At this point I haven't had my meeting with him - he's doing it in squad number order and with me being number 33 that pretty much puts me at the back of the queue!

Sean McAuley did a really good job as caretaker boss and he has obviously spoken with Alan quite a bit to explain some of the situations in the club and the expectations here. The players have thanked Sean for what he did in the interim period and he is still a vital part of this club going forward as our academy manager.

The last game I played was at Leicester in mid-December because of injury and illness, so I won't have played for a month the next time I pull on the blue and white stripes. It has been a very frustrating month personally and I seem to have picked up far more bugs than is good for me too.

Since being back in training last week, we have all had to top up our fitness levels because we need to be ready for the tough run-in that we have coming up.

Five or six of the lads at Sheffield Wednesday live on the other side of the Pennines so we got stuck last week. We usually drive over the Woodhead Pass but when we tried getting in last Monday morning we found that nearly every road was closed off.

There were cars parked all over the road and we had to turn around and go back home for our own safety. Training was cancelled for a couple of days because of the snow but we certainly made up for it in the days that we managed to get in.

Last week's bleep and yoyo tests certainly took a toll. Players never look forward to this but it's a stamina test that you have to put yourself through three or four times a season.

For the bleep test, everyone lines up between two lines of cones, about 20 yards apart. You have to run between the cones to the time of the bleeps and those bleeps come quicker and quicker every time so you have to run quicker and quicker as you go. You basically run until you can't run any more.

The yoyo test is similar, but more like doing shuttle runs. Every time you do a shuttle run you get an eight second rest and then you have to go again. A beep tells you when you have to be at a certain point, running at a certain speed and, again, you pretty much run until you drop.

There is no way of cheating these tests because we all wear heart rate monitors. We all have to reach our maximum heart rate during the test and if a player were not to reach that level our fitness coach would pick up on it and the player would end up having to redo the test. These tests are never easy but the lads gave it a real good go and we saw some pretty good results.

We have a very tough run of games from now until the end of the season so we have to hit the ground running in our next one. There are no easy games and we need to get points on the board so let's hope 2010 is a good year for us.

The number of games called off because of the weather recently has been quite incredible. Most years you get the odd game called off in a season but it's pretty rare to have so many fall to the weather. It means there will soon be a fixture pile-up and when you don't have a large squad it is vital everyone is at the peak of fitness.

Everybody has to be ready because all of our players will probably be called upon at some point between now and the end of the season. We're raring to go and it's good to know everyone's fitness levels are right up there.

It has been a strange period because as footballers, you are always told by managers how important the Christmas period is because there are usually loads of games in a short period of time, but we've only played one league game since Christmas and that was on Boxing Day against Newcastle.

Now we are set for five games in a fortnight so we will have to treat late January as our 'Christmas period' and hopefully it will be a fruitful one.

We kick-off with a South Yorkshire derby at Barnsley for the new manager's first game and everyone is ready to get down to business.