'We only need a point' - why Sheffield Wednesday would be wise to avoid those words ahead of final-day Championship trip to Sunderland

In that context, Danny Rohl’s declaration that his side - on the cusp of completing an astonishing act of relegation escapology - will not be going to Sunderland in pursuit of a final-day draw but a win is likely to be well received by those Wednesdayites travelling up to Wearside with long memories.

But nerves will still be frayed all the same with Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle able to save themselves at Wednesday’s expense if they beat Norwich City and Hull City respectively and Rohl’s side lose.

Wednesday have been here before. Back on May 5, 1990.

Then, as now, the Owls - then in the top flight - knew they would be safe if they picked up a draw in their season’s finale at home to Nottingham Forest.

A defeat would potentially let in Luton, who headed to Derby.

What happened is the stuff of infamy as far as the blue and white half of Sheffield are concerned. And red and white.

Wednesday crashed 3-0 with the attention of agitated Owls fans drawn to events down the M1 at the Baseball Ground.

Luton had raced into a 2-0 lead, but the hosts relievingly restored parity, with the Rams’ second goal coming from a future Owls coach Paul Williams, the defender and not the striker of the same name who played for Wednesday.

The final blow was inflicted by Kingsley Black, who added a killer third, his second of the game, for the Hatters.

In a further twist, the old wooden Hillsborough scoreboard changed in the dying stages of the game to state that Derby had seemingly levelled.

It was erroneous information and after the final whistle, the Owls’ relegation was heartbreakingly confirmed on goal difference - by just two goals - on an day when Steel City rivals Sheffield United returned to the big time and swapped places with them after victory at Leicester.

Sign up to our new Sports Editor’s TeamTalk newsletter available this week

Late on in seasons - and certainly before the advent of the internet and smartphones - false rumours surrounding scorelines elsewhere often did the rounds.

The week before Wednesday’s game with Forest, Ron Atkinson’s side won at Charlton.

The PA announcer wrongly stated after the final whistle that Luton had lost, meaning that the Owls were safe. The Hatters had actually won.

At the end of campaigns, bizarre things happen as Wednesday can testify. Rohl’s statement that his side must ‘not be lazy or afraid’ and go for a win is very shrewd in the circumstances.

Because when it comes to the relegation picture on the final day, it’s never over until it’s over.

Several Yorkshire clubs and not just Wednesday can vouch for that through bitter experience.

Back in 2013-14, Doncaster Rovers were safe with just over a quarter of an hour to go where they were drawing at Leicester, while the team directly below them in Birmingham were losing 1-0 at Bolton – and requiring a three-goal swing.

Leicester took the lead, just before Wanderers to add a second - only for Blues to pull a goal back and level in the 93rd minute to send Rovers down.

For one current Owls coach, something even more cruel occurred at the end of 1998-99.

York, then managed by Neil Thompson, spent just seven minutes in the Division Two drop zone. The last seven minutes of the season.

The Minstermen lost 4-0 at Manchester City and relegation rivals Oldham and Wycombe both won, the latter grabbing an 83rd-minute winner.

There have been other madcap final-day tales of yore across football. Lincoln City lost their Football League status in 1986-87 after a lengthy delay in a game involving rivals Torquay, due to a home player being bitten by a police dog. The Gulls levelled in stoppage time.

Back in 1995-96, Alan Ball’s Manchester City famously ran down the clock and settled on a a draw against Liverpool, having wrongly believed that fellow relegation contenders Southampton were losing. They weren’t.

Yorkshire rivals Barnsley and Huddersfield Town ‘downed tools’ and played out the final few minutes to more joyous effect at the end of 2012-13 when a 2-2 draw demoted Peterborough, who went behind to an 89th-minute goal at Crystal Palace.

A post-match ‘love-in’ ensued between Reds and Terriers followers amid chants of ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire.’

For Rohl and Wednesday, it’s about avoiding any late dramas, hopefully.

The post-script to 89-90 is that the Owls - ‘the best team ever to get relegated’ according to Atkinson - enjoyed one of the best seasons in their history in the following campaign.

In the here and now, Wednesday would prefer staying where they are and sealing something special.