"We know he can do it consistently": Garry Monk on Jordan Rhodes' place at Sheffield Wednesday
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The Owls went through on penalties after being held to a 0-0 draw in the Midlands, where Monk plumped for midfield men Adam Reach and Izzy Brown up top ahead of Rhodes, who came on as a substitute.
The move prompted debate as to Rhodes’ place in the squad this season, with the Wednesday boss having made clear he wants to further add to his attacking options after the additions of Elias Kachunga and Josh Windass, who are both in contention for a starting berth in their Championship opener at Cardiff this weekend.
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Hide Ad“I’ve spoken to Jordan about that,” Monk said. “I believe there is a player more than capable in there. He has had a tough two or three years.
“We have talked about how he can get confidence and work through that in training and we have set him targets to try and hit to try and get himself back to a position where he can consistently perform. That's the key.
“I think Jordan has had periods where he has performed well and he has had periods where he has not performed so well. We know Jordan can do it consistently.
“We all know that and that is what we have been going through since we have come back in.
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Hide Ad“I’ve had really good chats with Jordan and he is going to play his part this season. There is no doubt about it.
“I’m very pleased with Jordan but he knows what he needs to work on to get himself in a position where he can consistently perform.”
On Rhodes’ reaction to being left out in favour of Reach and Brown, Monk said: “Jordan is fine. I enjoy working with Jordan.
“We know the capabilities of him. He has had a very difficult two or three years. I have had very good discussions with him.
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Hide Ad“My job is to work with the players that are here and do my best for them.
“In terms of Saturday, you can read into what you want with me not starting him, but I wanted to use the opportunity to see other players and whether they can play in those positions because we might need that with the options that we have at this moment in time.
“With Izzy [Brown] and Adam [Reach] in those positions was to see whether they are capable of playing in those positions. That is why I started with them. I have to see that in a match environment. You can do it in training as much as you want but you have to see it in a match environment to see if it truly works.
“Of course, whenever you don’t start an out-and-out striker, people will talk. I can’t stop that.
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Hide Ad“My job is to try and work and understand this group and what we might need this season. I might need to certain options or players in certain positions because of injuries or for a certain game.”