It is fair to say that just a few months ago, not many people thought Sheffield Wednesday had any chance of making the Championship play-offs.

Indeed, they still might not, but there is no denying that Steve Bruce has done a fantastic job since taking over at Hillsborough and he has given Owls fans every reason to be optimistic about a return to the Premier League.

When Jos Luhukay was sacked in December, Wednesday were 18th in the Championship table, just six points above the relegation zone, having won just one of their last ten matches.

However, since the Dutchman's departure the Owls have gone from strength to strength and now find themselves within four points of the play-off places, with nine matches to go.

Let's not forget that Lee Bullen deserves credit for what he was able to achieve in his four matches as caretaker manager, but Bruce has done an excellent job of building on this since his first game in charge in early February.

The Owls are unbeaten in their last ten league matches - nine of them under Bruce - and have slowly been building momentum over the past few months.

As we have often seen in the Championship in the past, form and momentum can prove crucial at this stage of the season and Bruce has given his side a great platform to build on.

Win against Blackburn on Saturday and Wednesday would have to be considered serious contenders for a top-six finish.

With so many other teams still in with a chance of making the play-offs it will by no means be easy, but you cannot underestimate the impact Bruce has had on this team.

Time and again he has proven his ability to get the best out of the squad, just take the defence as an example.

When Luhukay was sacked, the Owls had the worst defence in the Championship, but fast forward three months and they have become one of the hardest teams in the division to break down and Bruce deserves a lot of credit for this.

He has exceeded all expectations since taking charge at Hillsborough and his past experiences of winning promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs could prove absolutely crucial over the next few weeks.