Steve Bruce on why Sheffield Wednesday ‘can’t be complacent’ against QPR

The Owls chief has demanded that his players come out of the blocks quickly in the game at Hillsborough after a sloppy opening 45 minutes in last weekend’s match against Preston North End.

Bruce will cap a fine first three months in charge against 19th-placed Rangers, who have only picked up ten points since the new year.

By contrast, Wednesday have only lost three league matches in 2019 against Hull City, Leeds United and Aston Villa – which now looks to have been the game that ended the Owls’ play-off push.

QPR won 3-0 against Wednesday at Loftus Road earlier in the season, and Owls chief Bruce is expecting another tricky game against interim manager John Eustace’s side this weekend.

“Nobody can be complacent and it’s what the Championship is. It’s a very, very difficult league,” Bruce said.

“I have got big respect for QPR, they have been in the Premier League not so long ago and have found difficult times along the way so I have got the hugest of respect. They have got some good players and it’ll always be a difficult game in the Championship no matter how you play.

“They’ll want it and it’s probably time for change for them. They are coming in without a head coach or whatever you want to call it, so there’s a summer of change for them too. We would have loved another three or four games but there you go.

“We will have to be right at it. If we start like we did against Preston last weekend then we will be in trouble. I want to finish as high as we can.

“We can get to 9th from where we were in 18th or 19th, so of course I have got to be happy.”