Owls hit by stayaway fans

FALLING gates could jeopardise the Owls' chances of extending the loans of Michael Johnson and Graham Kava-nagh.

Manager Brian Laws wants to keep the Premiership duo but says there is doubt about whether the club will be able to continue affording the addition to their wage bill.

Laws would be reluctant to lose the players after their loans end on October 28 but accepts that finance will have to be taken into account before a final decision is taken.

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"Gates are down so the club are losing money and it could affect the decision on the loans of Johnson and Kavanagh; I certainly have to acknowledge that fact," said Laws.

"In a sense, I can understand the crowd figures; performances and results have not gone hand in hand.

"It we can get it right on the pitch, it would certainly help. We need the help of Kavanagh and Johnson to do that. I'd hate to lose them. They have certainly contributed."

Can Wednesday get it together before the crucial New Year period? Click here to see this week's Tommo Talk.

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Hillsborough's average league attendance this season, admittedly after only five games so far, is just under 20,000, around 3,700 down on last season's end-of-season average.

Laws admits it is a difficult situation. "We've all got to look at areas where we can tighten up, but I'm having to knock on the door to ask for more money to keep loan players," he said.

A 20million-plus debt continues to be a millstone around the Owls' neck.

"We've always got that financial situation having over us. Unfortunately, it makes decisions for you sometimes," added the Owls boss

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Derby, Johnson's club, have now joined Sunderland, Kavanagh's employers, in saying they have no objection to extending their player's loan.

But managers Billy Davies and Roy Keane will make a final verdict at the end of the month, and now Wednesday's financial position has emerged as an extra factor in the equation.

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