Basic errors to blame, says Jones, as Owls keep on leaking goals

DAVE JONES insists his Sheffield Wednesday side must tighten up at the back ahead of their first Yorkshire derby of the season.

The Owls have lost back-to-back away games to bring a shuddering halt to Jones’s six-month unbeaten record, but more alarming is the amount of goals they have conceded.

Wednesday have not kept a clean sheet in the Championship, shipping an average of two goals a game, culminating in Friday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton.

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Heading into Wednesday’s Hillsborough game with Huddersfield Town, Jones was quick to stress that defensive problems need to be rectified.

He said: “We must cut out the basic errors that we are making. We are working at it and are not that far away.

“But one or two of our players need to come back to earth a little bit because of the start we have made. They need a little reality check at the moment and we need to be a bit more aggressive in the way we defend in certain situations.

“When you look at the goals that we gave away against Brighton, they are goals that can be stopped. But Brighton have been in this division longer than us and do certain things better than us as a result.”

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Although keen to tighten up his leaky defence, Jones believes the necessary adjustments will make his side better equipped to tackle the challenges ahead.

He added: “Teams are much the same in this division and I have seen nothing that has frightened me at the moment. We are a work in progress really and it is important that we stay patient because we have done a lot of things right up to now.”

Brighton eased to their third straight win with goals from Wayne Bridge, Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Buckley and Brighton manager Gus Poyet added: “It was a perfect night but we have more to come. We have added quality players and they are already making an impact.

“In terms of chances, goals and the noise from a record home crowd it was a great night of football and with us being top of the table I have no problem with the expectations that brings, as I prefer to see myself at the top.”