Sheffield Wednesday midfielder: "Midfield rivals are making me a better player"

The Dutchman, who has been shunted deeper into the waiting list for Wednesday pitch time following the arrival of Massimo Luongo, said he is relishing the challenge of competition for places at the club, which he believes is making him a better player.

The absence of Borner, who twisted his ankle late in the warm-up ahead of the visit of Leeds, saw Sam Hutchinson drop into centre-half with Pelupessy drafted into the midfield.

“I haven’t played too much this season,” Pelupessy told The Star. “We have really good midfielders, five of them, and they’re all good.

“We’re all very competitive with one another. We’re all good players and I learn from them, maybe they learn from me as well.

“This competitiveness in training and this competition gets the best out of us. Everyone is getting sharper all the time.”

The draw kept Wednesday within three points of the top of the table and Pelupessy acknowledged the importance of the entire squad in continuing to push for a tilt at the play-offs.

Speaking after the 0-0 Yorkshire derby draw he said: “I didn’t play the last two games and of course that is hard. But I’m working hard to play, it’s what I do every day, every training session, every game.

“Whether it’s five minutes or 85 minutes I need to make sure that I’m ready when I do play. That’s the challenge for me.

“If I need to be ready, I’m ready. I think I did that today.”