“But they are..” Morecambe boss makes frank admission on Sheffield Wednesday and League One

The Owls cruised to a 3-0 win in which Morecambe made them sweat despite Darren Moore’s side being able to fire off 29 shots.

Second half goals from Josh Windass, George Byers and a maiden league goal in Owls colours for Michael Smith delivered a handsome Wednesday win.

Adams said: “Listen, they’ve got fantastic talent throughout the squad. You only have to look at the bench that they brought with them tonight.

“It shows what quality they have in the squad. They shouldn’t be in League One, we know that, but they are, the same as Morecambe and we’ve done our best to compete against them.”

The 47-year-old Glaswegian, who was re-appointed at Morecambe late last season and staged an unlikely survival act after having been sacked as manager of Bradford City, claimed his side kept Wednesday at bay for periods.

“It was always going to be a difficult match for us,” he said. “We were playing against Sheffield Wednesday.

“But I thought we competed really well for long periods in the game. We limited them to very few opportunities and Ripley made some really good saves.

“You saw when Wednesday had the ball and they broke and were able to find their man, their quality shone through.”

Barry Bannan was the tormentor-in-chief for the visitors, registering two assists from corners and running the game throughout.

Coupled with the efforts of goal-and-assist Josh Windass and those around them, the Owls’ quality won out in the end.

“They’re a very, very good side,” Adams continued. “I said that to the players after the game.

“You can’t expect to beat a team [like that] when they’re on form and tonight I thought Sheffield Wednesday were on form. They passed the ball, zipped it about, they had runners from defence and midfield and unfortunately they have such a strong squad.

“But I thought my players showed good shape at times and were a threat.

“I think in the coming weeks when we get a few easier fixtures to play, life might be better for us.”