Henrik Pedersen spoke of the tiredness in his Wednesday squad but also reflected on the promise of young striker Will Grainger after the Owls went down 4-1 at Oxford today.
The boss said: “This is not the team we want to be. Today we looked tired, we were tired mentally and this showed in the performance.
“When you are not 100 per cent and you are fatigued, it will show and this happened today. Normally, we are in the game, we are competitive, the players have given absolutely everything but we could not get the performance today.”
He added: “The players now have two days to rest, to recover, and we are back in on Tuesday to prepare for West Brom, a game we are desperate to win for our fans, who have been amazing for us this season.”
Talking about 17-year-old Grainger, who came on for the final 25 minutes and scored his first goal for the Wednesday first team with a cracking finish, Pedersen said: “I am very pleased for the young man and he can be very pleased for himself and proud.
“This shows the rewards are there for the hard work to go with the talent. Will has a big career ahead of him and we will continue to work and develop that talent.”
Pedersen added that defender Gabriel Otegbayo missed the Oxford game after suffering a calf injury at Middlesbrough in midweek but hopes the defender will be ready to return for the season finale at home to West Brom on Saturday.
