Sheffield Wednesday chief questions team's mentality after dip in form

The Owls have fallen to 11th in the Championship after losing three out of their last four league outings.

Saturday's woeful 2-1 Hillsborough defeat to Queens Park Rangers also dented Bullen's prospects of bagging the manager's role on a full-time basis.

He told The Star: "You can't take any game for granted in this league.

"If our players want to be successful, they have to be mentally stronger than they were (against QPR) because it looked as if we had got 1-0 up at half-time and they thought they had done the job and would cruise through it.

"I said that to them in the changing room. Sometimes you don't need to say anything to them, but I did say that and I am sure the players believe that as well. I don’t think they will be happy with their overall performance."

Bullen, who admitted he tactically made a mistake in changing the Owls' formation from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2, branded their QPR performance "unacceptable".

Boos greeted the full-time whistle after Wednesday suffered their first home defeat of the campaign.

He said: "We have proven in the past that we have got the mentality to do it (in this league) but, once or twice this season, I think for whatever reason, nobody has really taken the game by the scruff of the neck and become that driving force in there.

"At times against QPR, it felt like we were a group of individuals rather than a team. We need to be better than that and the players also know that."

The Owls return to action with a televised trip to second-from-bottom Huddersfield Town on Sunday, September 15 following the two-week international break.