Garry Monk looks to make Reading clash a turning point as Sheffield Wednesday aim to earn just second league win of 2020

The 40-year-old Owls boss has seen his side collect just five points from their last 27 available and with 14 games left are quickly slipping out of play-off contention.

But Monk believes the visit of Reading, themselves winless in the league since New Year’s Day, offers as good a chance as any at turning their fortunes around. And he hopes one performance – as well as hard work – that can spark that u-turn.

“Football can turn,” he said. “We've said that for a few weeks, it hasn't turned for us yet, but it can turn. One performance can flood belief back and all that side of it, but it's down to hard work.

“I work very hard, I try to work the players very hard and try to give them some clarity to go out onto the pitch what you want to try and encourage them is belief in themselves and to go and show what good players they can be.

“It hasn't come to fruition in this period but it can turn very quickly in football and that's what we have to believe.”

Asked about the threats that Reading will pose this weekend, Monk said: “If I'm honest, it's about us. I'm more focused on us as I always am but more so in this period because it's only us that can change it and us that can get ourselves out of it.

“It needs a big collective fight and we're trying to push that from the players and get that from them.

“Of course, naturally confidence levels aren't at their highest but what I want from the players is to fight through that and show that strength of character.

“They do have that, we've seen already in some weeks that we've had. Brighton away, Leeds, you have to have character to do that, so they do have it in them.”