Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk on what his side are working on this international break

That’s according to the man himself, who’s implementation of ‘seven or eight’ key aspects of his football philosophy is an ongoing process at Middlewood Road.

Only two Wednesday players – Liam Palmer (Scotland) and Atdhe Nuhiu (Kosovo) – are absent on international duty this time out and while Monk admits part of him would have liked the opportunity to bounce back from the disappointments of Blackburn and Swansea straight away, the chance for extended coaching time is one he’s been looking forward to.

“It’s 50/50 all the time as a manager,” he said. “There are things I can work on in this time and there’s time to get that across to the players, which it vital at this stage.

“But you always want the next game. That’s what we’re here to do, play games, but the lads are in a really good way. We’re putting ourselves in positions to take points and that, at this stage, is the important thing in many ways.

“We need to make sure the team is competitive while we try to change a few things and the international break is so important for things like that.”

The players returned to training on Thursday and asked how far he feels he has got with his squad, Monk referred to the core principles he says he has taken to each of his jobs so far.

“I’ve touched on all of them, but the key is to not just brush over them,” he said. “I like to work on one to the point that we’ve got it and then move on to the next one.

“You try a mix of both offensive and defensive aspects during the week, we’ve brushed over pretty much all of them so far. We’re not at the level that I expect, but that’s to be expected at this stage.

“There are a few more defensive structural things that we need to get better at, there are certain scenarios that happen with certain teams and then there are offensive aspects that we need to get better at.

“It’s about trying to strike that balance of both. Overall, in terms of the time we’ve had and what we’ve done with them, I’m happy with what they’ve done.

“We’ve more or less got the idea, it’s just about how you deliver that consistently and perform to those levels.”