Richard Dobson reckons Wycombe’s “anger” held the key to them claiming their first Championship victory with a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
David Wheeler’s header in first-half stoppage-time was enough to floor the Owls at Adams Park and inflict a fourth consecutive defeat on Garry Monk’s strugglers.
Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth was absent on the touchline after undergoing back surgery but assistant boss Dobson says the hosts’ fiery mentality propelled them to their first win at the ninth attempt since earning promotion.
“It is not about spirit, it is about anger,” said Dobson. “The boys were angry and they wanted to put something right.
“We have had a lot of big game-changing decisions go against us and that has fuelled the fire a bit. It has been tough to take some of these big decisions but it has added to the spirit.
“Gareth told me I was in charge during the game and left me to make the decisions. He was the first phone call and we have a very happy guy in hospital at the moment, he is over the moon.
“We are all in it together, it is a very tight-knit group. Our boys are a terrific group of people.
“We built on Tuesday night’s draw with Watford – we were unfortunate then.
“We are growing as a group, as a team, as a staff and we are excited by this challenge of being in the Championship and we are proving we deserve to be here.
“I think we are certainly learning, certainly growing, and heading in the right direction as a club.”
Midfielder Wheeler headed home on the stroke of half-time to hand the hosts the advantage and while Wednesday embarked on a second-half rally, the Chairboys held firm to claim their first win in the second tier.
Left-back Joe Jacobson posed a threat throughout and it was his in-swinging corner that allowed Wheeler to nod home the decisive goal.
Monk’s bottom of the table side, who remain on -4 points after starting the season with a 12-point deduction, sought to level but centre-back pair Josh Knight and Anthony Stewart repelled all that came before them.
The Wednesday boss hailed his side’s effort but lamented a lack of cutting edge that still leaves them chasing their third win of the season.
“We ran our hearts out today, which we knew we had to do,” Monk said.
“We are just missing that killer edge. Just at this moment we can’t find that killer edge and we need to find that at any level. We can’t get that rub of the green in that moment or that final bit of quality to get that goal.
“I thought they gave everything today, they ran their socks off. They kept pushing until the end and it is just not going for us at this moment in time.
“We had the dominance, we got into the positions we wanted to get into but we just didn’t have the killer edge in that, whether that is through a lack of quality in those moments or a lack of confidence of belief in that moment.
“They are capable of doing it, they know they are, they just don’t have the confidence at the moment.”
