Darren Moore admits concern over defending after Sheffield Wednesday friendly defeat at Wigan Athletic

His side were by far the better side in a busy first half-hour and took the lead through Ben Heneghan.

But a mistake from Marvin Johnson allowed Wigan to equalise and from there, the home side took control of the match to punish lacklustre Owls defending.

Individual errors and poor defending from set pieces went some way to stopping Wednesday from bulding an automatic promotion push last time out.

“We know last season it was an area of our game that really played a significant part,” Moore told The Star days out from their season opener against Portsmouth.

“It’s an area we have identified and it’s an area we have brought personnel in we feel are good in those areas. But that doesn’t mean it eradicates the problem.

“It’s something we have to address. It has come in pre-season, so it clearly shows that more time needs to be spent on it and will be spent on it. More analysis work needs to be spent on it.

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“There will be things this season we have to differently to address the problem in terms of training programmes as individuals, training programmes within the unit and with the team.

“It’s a concern, but we’ll work towards improving because we can’t accept goals like that going in.”

Moore looked to the positives of an opening period in which Wednesday looked ‘at it’ and could have doubled their lead but for a handful of near-misses.

“I don’t know why we stopped doing what we were doing,” he said. “From how we started to how we finished, we were two totally different teams.

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“We analyse the game and there are moments that change it. I didn’t see anything in the game to reflect it was a 4-1 loss, but it was a 4-1 loss.

“The manner of the goals we conceded were a little bit concerning but we’ll look at that.

“It has served as a wake-up call for us right at the very start of the season and reminds us there is still work to do and to continue to do.”