Garry Monk on the exclusion of Julian Börner and Moses Odubajo in Sheffield Wednesday’s Watford draw

Both Julian Börner and Moses Odubajo, who started the 2-0 win over Rochdale earlier this week, were left out of the squad to face Watford at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon, but Garry Monk says that it was purely a case of trying to pick the best squad to get the job done.

There were three U21 players on the bench in Alex Hunt, Liam Shaw and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Monk admits that it’s tough picking his squad when ‘the whole squad is performing’, saying that it’s up to those left out to earn themselves a place in the XI going forward.

Speaking to the media after the 0-0 draw, the Wednesday boss expanded on his selection situation, saying, “There’s only a certain amount you can put in the squad, I think at the moment the whole squad is performing and it’s a case of picking the ones that are performing at their best or have not done anything to not be in the squad.

“It’s for those guys who are left out to fight their way back in. It’s not that they’re not performing, it’s just the fact that the whole squad is performing at the moment - so that’s good, it’s where you want it to be.

“Of course you have to make decisions on who you think deserves a place at the moment in time, but there’s a long way to go and everyone has to be ready.

“Those guys, they’re not out of the squad for any other reason than that everyone is performing and I have to make a decision.”

An impressive first half showing saw Wednesday go into the break in a buoyant mood, however the Hornets tested them on numerous occasions in the second half as the Owls stood firm to hold out for the point.

Now it’s over to next week’s Carabao Cup encounter with Fulham as SWFC seek an impressive fifth clean sheet in a row on Wednesday night at Craven Cottage.

More Owls news:

Wednesday are no longer a meek and mild pushover…

Monk fumes at 'clear penalty' on Josh Windass

SWFC fans' verdict on Watford draw

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports.