Popular Sheffield Wednesday man working on new position after January outing

Former Manchester United youngster Di'Shon Bernard has grown to be a key man in the Owls' Championship renaissance, one that has seen them jump to within four points of the safety places with 13 matches to go. His efforts at centre-half have seen him start 14 of their last 16 matches and earn fan favourite status along the way.

One of those starts sparked conversation among the Wednesday fan base when he started as a holding midfielder at Southampton, a match that saw the gulf between the two squads exposed as the automatic promotion chasers dispatched Danny Röhl's side 4-0. The surprise move has not been revisited since, with the Jamaican international a pillar of an Owls defence that has kept three clean sheets in its last five league matches.

Longer-term, however, Bernard's skillset leads Röhl to believe there is something worth working on in adding number six to the positions the 23-year-old is able to play. Though there's no suggestion it's a switch Wednesday supporters should expect to see soon, it's been suggested it's not beyond the realms of possibility Bernard features there again at some stage.

"It's something the two of us have worked on a bit in training," Bernard told The Star. "I like to think I'm decent on the ball and against Southampton we had a look. Defensively I am obviously alright so it's about carrying the ball up the pitch and getting us going. It was a new one for me, we'll see if it happens again in the season. We worked on it during the week of Southampton and it looked good in training, getting used to the rotations of Josh and Baz and those guys. It was new to me, like I say, we'll see if it comes out again in other games.

"I don't mind it. It was tough against Southampton because they're a good team who had a lot of the ball. It's new and it's a different type of running. As a centre-half you're used to stepping up and getting a bit of a rest but in midfield it's moving, moving, scanning. I know in my game I am good on the ball, someone like John Stones has done it and he's someone I look up to, so hopefully I can do it as well."

Speaking to The Star last month, Röhl expanded beyond Bernard's skillset to advise as to the tactical advantages it would deliver Wednesday if he was to be able to add a second position to his armoury.

"I think Dish has potential to play also as a number six," Röhl said. "Maybe it will be interesting in the future because maybe you have a defender who can also play as a six. I have spoken about hybrid players because it is useful so you can change immediately from a back four to a back five, you can have a guy in front as a six and pull him back into a three to be flexible. For sure, it maybe takes time. He has done well as a centre-back as well. From my side I am very open on this to improve him."