Johnson warned to get in line by Megson

The Jamaican international stormed down the tunnel when substituted in last week’s FA Cup first-round victory over Morecambe and is unlikely to start today’s League One game at Tranmere Rovers.

Megson makes no secret of a desire to sign a new winger and aims to complete a deal before next Thursday when the Football League brings in a deadline for emergency signings until New Year’s Day.

Johnson, 31, had been starting for only the second time this season due to the ineligibility of on-loan Stoke City winger Ben Marshall.

Megson said: “He got the hump about coming off and went straight down the tunnel. Those sort of things don’t make a great deal of difference to me.

“We have a squad of players and all the players have got different qualities, both good and bad, but every single one has to have a thread running through them that is the same. That applies to ‘JJ’ as much as it does the other 21 players. If they haven’t got that going through them, they won’t play.”

Reflecting on Johnson’s performance, Megson said: “He’s got something about him – that quality, explosive pace, and quality of dribbling – and, even if it doesn’t come off, he tends to always bring one player, invariably two, sometimes three players towards him.

“When that happens, there is someone elsewhere who is free and he has got to release the ball quicker to find that person to enable to bring the best out of him.”

Reading winger Michail Antonio this week rejected the opportunity of a short-term switch to Hillsborough.

“I spoke to Brian McDermott (the Reading manager) who said he was up for it as long as everyone was fit – but Michail’s partner is due to give birth so, quite correctly, he wants to be down there,” said Megson. “He’s also been on loan a while and wants to go to his parent club and fight for a place.”

Megson is also chasing Spanish centre-back Miguel Ilera who is now back at parent club Blackpool after a three-month loan spell at Brentford.

Third in the table, the Owls will go second if they win today and Huddersfield Town lose.