Carlos Carvalhal said he was proud of his team after the second-half comeback at Cardiff today.
The head coach said: “I am very proud about the vibe of the team, we played with a big soul and heart, especially in the second half, we were strong and like a team that believed that when they have difficulties they can come back.”
Reflecting on the first half, Carvalhal said he felt Wednesday began well but that Cardiff scored two goals with just about their first two attacks, adding that after the second goal we lost our balance for the rest of the half.
He said he then decided to make a tactical change at the interval, bringing on Gary Hooper up front in place of Kieran Lee, who had also taken a slight knock, with Hooper playing up front alongside Lucas Joao and Fernando Forestieri just behind the front two.
Carvalhal added: “I said to the players at the break that I can change the team tactically and I will do that as I believe we can win, but that it must be you that believe and play with your heart and a big soul as a team.
“We must believe we can change this game because even if I change something you must do it on the pitch. And they did absolutely fantastic, they received the message very well and deserved the draw.”
He admitted that he took a risk playing Michael Turner as he was not 100 per cent fit but felt he needed his height to combat Cardiff’s danger at corners.
And summing up the second-half revival, Carvalhal produced another of his Cantona-style quotes, saying said: “As we say in Portugal, we put all the meat on the fire in the second half because we were very angry.”