What Sheffield Wednesday pair said about the club's EFL battle only a few days ago

The saga has been a topic of conversation in almost every interview conducted with Sheffield Wednesday staff and manager Garry Monk since the club were charged back in November.

The threat of a points deduction in the event of a guilty finding has been hanging over the club, with players and staff alike having maintained throughout the season that they were not distracted by the issue.

Uncertainty over the severity of any potential punishment is thought to be one factor holding up the extension of the contracts of Steven Fletcher and Morgan Fox, who do not yet know which division the club will be playing in next season.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest last week, Owls midfielder Adam Reach opened up on his thoughts around the issue, which he admitted was a slight concern.

“The way we have got to look on it is that we have no control what happens with that,” he said.

“What the manager is trying to instil in us and what we need to believe in ourselves is that it is one more motivation to pick up as many points as we can in these remaining nine games just in case something like that happens and we get charged - I don't know. Hopefully not.

“We need to use that as one more reason why we need to win games and pick up as many points as we can."

“I wouldn't say it lingers over us and is something we discuss. But it is something you cannot hide from. People see it on Twitter or in the news.

“Ideally, we'd all want some finality and clarity on that. But I can't see that coming. The EFL and the club itself have got bigger things to worry about in terms of this Project Restart and getting this season up and running again.

“But on a day to day basis, that does not affect the players or coaching staff or affect how we do our job.”

The next day Garry Monk admitted the next few weeks could be huge in the future of the football club.

“It's a huge month in terms of what our focus is," he said. "Our focus is on the football pitch.

“That is what my determination is and what I have tried to focus the players on. The feeling that I have from the group is the same.

“We want to use these nine games to put ourselves in a much better run of form than what we were and to write a few wrongs. We want to give a good feeling for ourselves, the fans and the club.

“We are all aware of everything outside of that and we all understand there could be certain things that come along this month but we can't control any of that. Our job is to focus on what we do and that is what we have been preparing for.”

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