Turnaround lays bare Sheffield Wednesday transfer need – boss admits injury nervousness – coy on progress

The Owls boss has been candid in recent media engagements about the need to add to the squad after the exits of loan pair Mark McGuinness and Alex Mighten.

Coupled with injuries to a number of key players – none of whom are expected back for Tuesday’s clash – Moore may not be able to rotate his squad quite as widely as he might prefer.

He admitted his heart was in his throat whenever players go down for treatment, saying “We just can't afford any more.”

“We’ve lost the two players and two players through injury. That’s four players down in a couple of weeks,” he told The Star.

“What we have to be careful of and what we’re looking at is beyond when the window closes. If we have hiccups in the run-in, that’s when you don’t get an opportunity to change it and that is what we have to guard against.

“It’s my responsibility to look at that, to recognise it and to see it and make sure once we get to the other side in 10 days time that we have enough.

“Our squad is smaller this year, but there's more of a versatility to the squad and how we’ve used them. With two players back on loan, with the injuries, you can see we are where we are.

“There’ll be no knee-jerk reaction, but we need to put ourselves into a position whereby if we were to suffer any more injuries, we can cover.”

Moore had said on Friday that nothing was imminent in terms of any new additions but speaking in the moments after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town, he was a little more coy when fielding transfer questions over whether a new man could come in before Cheltenham.

“It depends,” he said. “I am not going to say yes, I’m not going to say no. 24 hours is a long time in football.

“But in the meantime, if not, we’ll focus on the same group of players we turn them around and get them ready for Tuesday night.”