Carlos Carvalhal’s transformation of Swansea City’s Premier League prospects has taken his old club by surprise.
Carvalhal returns to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in the fifth round of the FA Cup, on the back of a remarkable turnaround in his own fortunes as well as that of his new club.
Wednesday had gone seven games without a win in the Championship when they decided to sack the Portuguese manager on Christmas Eve.
Four days later, he washed up in Swansea where he has masterminded an astonishing turnaround of 14 points from only seven games – a point more than had been taken in the previous first 20 games of the season.
It is a revival that was difficult to see coming and Carvalhal’s former player at Wednesday George Boyd admitted: “He has done really well, hasn’t he? But I am surprised.
“He has turned them around. They will be in high spirits and confident with their recent results but we are doing well in the Cup as well.
“This is a great opportunity for us. It doesn’t matter if they are Premier League, we will fancy ourselves against anyone at home.
“Against the old boss on the TV, it doesn’t get any better. It is exciting. We are two games away from Wembley and this is a great competition to go far in. As I found at Hull, the Cup can help in the league, too.”
Wednesday replaced Carvalhal with Dutchman Jos Luhukay, who has won three of his nine matches in charge so far.
But the Owls prepared for a reunion with their old manager with a surprise 2-0 victory over promotion-chasing Derby County in midweek.
The victory featured two goals from Portuguese Lucas Joao, one of Carvalhal’s first signings at the Yorkshire club in 2015.
“I thought Lucas was brilliant,” added Boyd, who joined Wednesday last year from Burnley. “And Jordan Rhodes, too. He won’t get a lot of credit but he worked really hard.”
“Lucas is a nightmare in training, you can’t get the ball off him with his big legs and his unbelievable feet.
“The only surprise I have had since I have come here is that he has not played more. Especially under Carlos. He is a quality player and showing that at the minute.”
