A wretched run of just four points from 18 in November – and just four goals in six games – has left Wednesday just a point away from the Championship relegation zone.

And the last thing you would imagine Paul Sturrock's youthful side need right now is a bruising trip to high-flying Sheffield United.

But Whelan – handed the captain's armband after club skipper Lee Bullen was sidelined with injury – believes an unlikely victory against the Blades can provide the missing spark for the mis-firing Owls.

Wednesday have already shown they can raise their game for a Yorkshire derby, beating Leeds United's multi-million pound squad 1-0 at Hillsborough earlier in the season.

But that display was a million miles away from the performance on Saturday as Wednesday were beaten by Stoke City.

"It's a big game for us on Saturday, the derby," said Ireland Under-21 star Whelan. "We can only give it our best, but we will be looking for a win.

"We need to turn things round, not only for the fans, but ourselves.

"Everyone has been talking up the derby, but we always knew we had a lot of hard games before. I think if we can get a result at the Blades, it could just turn things for us.

"It's a big game for the whole of Sheffield. We will be out there doing everything we can, for the fans more than anything, as it's bragging rights isn't it? We want to have them. It will be a tough game, but a good one too.''

"If we get a win against our local rivals, anything can happen. We are down at the moment, but we will be right back up for Saturday."

Against Stoke, the Owls dominated the second half as they chased an equaliser but even new loan signing Daryl Murphy failed to find the net, and they suffered a sucker punch as the visitors doubled their lead to wrap up the three points.

Whelan believes it is vital Wednesday start scoring to reap the rewards from some enterprising approach play.

He said: "Against Stoke we have come out in the second half and given it a real go but just couldn't get the goal that we needed.

"For the last three or four games everyone has been disappointed, not just the fans, but if you had seen our dressing room all the heads are down.

"We just need to stand up and be counted really, keep digging away, because it's going to be a long hard season. Things are going to change for the better, so we just need to keep our heads up.

"We are not even halfway through the season. If you had watched most of our games this season, except that last three or four, we are a decent team, but things haven't been going right for us.
"Against Stoke we had them on the back foot for 40 minutes, long ball over the top and we are 2-0 down."

Whelan praised Murphy for his Hillsborough debut, despite arriving at the club just 48 hours prior to kick-off from Sunderland, and thinks a week's training at Middlewood Road can help Wednesday – who are missing their three frontline strikers Steven MacLean, Drew Talbot and Lee Peacock with injury – solve their goalscoring drought.

"Murphy is still getting to know the lads, but he made the goalkeeper make two or three good saves on Saturday," said Whelan.

"He gives us a different dimension, because we have lacked strikers and we need to start scoring goals.

"Hopefully he can help us."