So where do we go from here?

The games since the restart have been a mixed bag, really, but the one thing that’s been constant is that there have been positives to take from them. Even the defeats. Tonight, not so much.

It looked like a bit of luck was going Wednesday’s way when Murphy broke through and scored after being under so much first half pressure. Then again when it looked like Börner had put them back in front. But instead, critical phases of a game have gotten the better of them again, and 3-1 is not too flattering of Preston to be honest.

After the game Monk spoke of the fundamentals and the basics, and focus. All seem to have been lacking far too often, even in and around the positives that have been visible.

Now, with Preston – who won for the first time in seven games tonight – becoming the latest team to come to Hillsborough and leave with three points, it just makes you wonder if that snowball effect that was spoken of before the break could be creeping back in again.

We hope not, of course, but Wednesday are in a very precarious position now. Form, EFL charge, sheer lack of goals. It’s all very worrying.

Add to that the fatigue that’s being spoken of, the injuries, and the fact that there is no real depth at SWFC, and I think I speak for most Wednesdayites when I say that I can’t wait to see the back of this season.

Garry Monk is typically measured when he speaks to the press after a game but he pulled no punches tonight as he reflected on a disappointing defeat.

Pointing the finger squarely at his defence, he criticised the failure to take care of the fundamentals of defending, which allowed Preston to carve Wednesday open and turn the game on its head.

He also spoke a lot about the disallowed goal from Julian Borner as being key, though he admitted he had not seen the replay. When he does, he’s likely to see that Joey Pelupessy did indeed foul the goalkeeper.

There was a lot of frustration from the Owls boss in his post match comments and it is understandable. The situation is getting pretty grim for Wednesday, with the EFL charge and potential ramifications continuing to hang over the club.

I haven’t heard anything from the club. I think we’re all tired of the same question. You asking it and me answering it.

It’s not good obviously. We feel we’ve been better than that stat, but it’s not good enough. Since we’ve come back we’ve been able to sustain for much longer periods in games, but the concentration in those critical moments really needs to improve. It’s a mental thing.

Josh has only trained for a couple of days. He’s a fit lad and fresh. He trained for two and a half days, which is not ideal, but it was good to see him back on the field.

Hopefully it’s not too serious. We’ll see how he recovers tomorrow. We have a couple of days and then we go again.

We gave them up until yesterday. There’s no specific injury. They’re on the borderline of injury, so we have to be careful. With their history as well, spending a lot of their energy. It was about losing them for one game rather than the rest of the season.

Hopefully they’ll be back for the weekend. 

Ultimately it’s me that has to take the responsibility, but the players as well. There’s a lot of work to be done, managers are always the most responsible for the results. The players are sat in there wondering how we’ve only got four points, but it’s down to concentration.