A 2-0 defeat at Doncaster Rovers increased supporter unrest as to recent form.

Experienced Sheffield Wednesday defender Liam Cooper has laid down some home truths to his teammates as supporter anger at recent performances continues to be focused on the dugout.

Defeat at Doncaster Rovers on Saturday sparked fury from many of the Wednesdayites who had made the trip across South Yorkshire, with chants encouraging the removal of Henrik Pedersen following those heard in defeat at Notts County on Tuesday. Wednesday sit eighth with a game in hand of most above them - but have won only one of their last six league matches.

Cooper arrived to undertake media duties after the Doncaster defeat with the air of a man with things he wanted to say and in conversation with The Star was asked whether the players have to take more responsibility for their performance levels amid continued pressure from the terraces towards their manager.

“Of course we do,” he said. “The manager doesn't go on there and play, you know what I mean? We do all the analysis, the video we get is top. We've got to rally round. The manager doesn't go out there and play, it's us as lads who go out there and play. We do have to take more responsibility, especially coming away from home in this league. You need to be men, you need to be at it every single moment and every single game.

“Today I don't think we had that, especially in that first 20 minutes. As bad as we were, I still think we still had chances to get back in the game. We all know how important momentum is in this league. You take one of those chances, Doncaster have had a little wobble. I've been on the receiving end of that. It's just those moments in games in both boxes and we just lost out at both ends today.”

Cooper, a full international with Scotland, is among the players in the Wednesday changing room with bags of experience and spent time as a Premier League captain when with Leeds United. The Owls side contains some young loanees thrust into new pressures, but the 35-year-old suggested it was time for all to stand up and show more mettle in order to jump the club out of its form funk.

On what went wrong in the Doncaster defeat, which saw Wednesday concede from two dead ball situations, Cooper continued the theme that it is time to stand up and be counted: “I don't know, it's hard to put your finger on it,” he said. “We do the analysis, we know who their main threats are. Still, we don't win the first contact, we don't win the second contact.

“Considering how good we've been at defending set players all year, to find ourselves conceding two like that, that's a bit of a disappointment and that is just basics. If teams are going to beat us, it needs to be with a bit of quality or a real bit of skill or play, but conceding goals like that is not good enough. Like I said, players need to take responsibility, me, myself and the rest of the lads as well.

“We need men now, we need men. When you play for a club like this, the expectation is so big and you need to be able to deal with that. It's going to come now, it's going to be backs against the wall and we've got to be ready to come out swinging.”