Garry Monk admits one reason why Sheffield Wednesday's performance dropped off in the second half of their 1-1 draw with Derby County

Wednesday were well worth their half-time 1-0 lead but dropped points late on for the fourth occasion in six matches through Chris Martin’s penalty.

And the 40-year-old offered one reason he believed their fortunes faded, suggesting his squad were showing the effects of a gruelling few weeks in the Championship.

Speaking after the draw, Monk said: “I think physically, we’ve had a lot of games and we looked a little bit leggy in the end.

“That’s understandable, and it became such a scrappy game. It wasn’t a very enjoyable game to watch after that first 35 minutes from our point of view.”

Wednesday are behind only Cardiff City when it comes to the average age of their Championship squad.

Steven Fletcher was replaced by Massimo Luongo having reported a minor hamstring issue and asked about his substitutions in the Pride Park stalemate, Monk admitted he will have to monitor the fitness of his players closely in what will be a busy next few weeks.

“Both teams found it difficult and we were feeding off scraps,” he said.

“I suppose from an away perspective the point, even though we were in a winning position, we have to look at it as a point gained considering we were down to 10 men.”