Gray puzzled by cards for defender Loovens

The Owls head coach admits that he has been puzzled by some of the influential defender’s cautions, with suspensions an added curse to the 54-year-old, whose squad resources are not among the most plentiful in the Championship.

Gray, hoping his side get back on track at the earliest juncture after losing to Nottingham Forest before the international break, said: “Normally, your captain gets away with one or two. But for some reason, Glenn has been unable to do it.

“At the moment, referees are in a difficult situation. Some are just not booking anyone in the first 20 minutes, which I rather prefer. But some are and putting themselves under a bit of pressure.

“The one thing we do know is I want players to be competitive. I don’t want players booked for dissent or back-chatting to referees, but I just want a bit of consistency.”

Meanwhile, Gray admits new signing Royston Drenthe’s lack of match fitness means it will represent a gamble if he starts with the Dutchman in the north-west this afternoon.

On the impact made by the former Real Madrid winger, he added: “You could see in training this week that he is definitely a jack-in-the-box.

“He might have been something we needed against Forest and he can put people on their backsides and pick out a pass and create a goal.

“But what he is lacking is match fitness and we are having to top that up in training what he’s lacking in games.”

Kamil Zayatte or Cluade Dielna will replace Loovens.