Hopeful Benito Carbone spells out importance of Sheffield Wednesday’s Plymouth Argyle clash

The enigmatic Italian is a fan favourite at S6 having scored 25 goals in 96 league matches for the Owls in a memorable stint between 1996 and 1999.

And watching from afar, he has been hugely impressed by the work done by Wednesday boss Darren Moore in shifting the club back on the right path after a hugely turbulent few years.

Wednesday can go top of the League One table with a win at Hillsborough on Saturday.

“They’re a club that deserves to be back in the bigger leagues, like the Premier League, and I think they have the ability to achieve that soon,” Carbone said.

“I am not always able to watch their matches, but I like to see the highlights and how the team is performing. They look a lot more confident now in how they are executing their game plans and there seems to be a sense of belief in their methods.”

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Asked about Owls boss Moore, Carbone continued: “The manager has done an excellent job. The club have been waiting for a few months, and in the last two or three games are now in the automatic promotion places.

“The side are playing with a lot of confidence now, and they’re displaying it with more frequency. I’m impressed with their progress and hope to watch them in the Premier League soon!”

Plymouth arrive top of the table having been the pace-setters throughout the campaign so far. They risk tumbling from top spot for the first time since early October with a snarling Wednesday having won five league matches on the bounce.

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“It’s definitely the most important game of the season so far,” he said.

“The manager is clearly having a positive effect, and I think he will be able to motivate the team to win on Saturday. I hope they can win it. They just need to try and maintain their performance levels. Darren Moore should continue doing whatever he’s doing – I can see he is getting the best levels out of each player.”

Carbone was speaking from Hillsborough to William Hill.