The alarming stat that shows why Sheffield Wednesday must stay switched on

Promotion hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday have now dropped a whopping TWELVE points from winning positions this season.

They let slip another lead in their midweek draw at Derby County to fall to eighth in the Championship.

Had they not thrown away points against Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City and Derby, Garry Monk's troops would be sat in third place, one point adrift of the automatic promotion slots.

Their game management has, at times, left a lot to be desired in the past two months. Conceding late proved their undoing again at Pride Park as Chris Martin coolly converted an 82nd minute penalty to cancel out Steven Fletcher's well-taken first half opener.

Wednesday dictated proceedings in the opening 45 minutes and should have had more to show for their efforts than Fletcher's 11th goal of the season. Their lack of a cutting edge in the final third has repeatedly let them down.

Asked what lessons the Owls have to learn from their Derby stalemate, Monk told The Star: "To sustain it when we are doing well. We had them where we wanted them and the crowd were turning on them and as an away team, that is exactly what you want to get. We looked very good and sharp.

"But in that second-half, it became scrappy and neither team had the composure really and it became a case of trying to hold the three points and make some changes to affect that. But the game was scrappy in that mode.

"But credit to the players, as I have said to them, if you cannot win a game, then make sure you don't lose it and they did that."

Wednesday return to action on Saturday with a trip to Nottingham Forest. Sabri Lamouchi's men are currently fifth, a point ahead of the Owls, despite winning just one of their last five outings.

Having splashed the cash in recent years, Forest are well-fancied with the bookmakers to be in the top-six shake-up come next May.