Sheffield Wednesday 1 Yeovil Town 1: Owls fans show their anger with standing ovation for opposition

That is because from winning positions over the Owls’ first six games of the season, they have let slip a staggering 11 points.

Instead of being on 15 points, Dave Jones’s strugglers have a meagre four-point return and sit in the bottom six.

The latest two points dropped came at Hillsborough on Saturday when the Owls failed to build on Atdhe Nuhiu’s controversial first-half opener despite Yeovil playing for an hour with just 10 men.

The numerical deficit came when Glovers’ Byron Webster lost his head and punched the prone Nuhiu after the two tumbled to the ground. It was literally gloves off.

But just like in their previous three games – Wednesday conceded winning positions against Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Millwall – the hosts lacked the resolve and tenacity to close out the contest and it was no surprise when Yeovil’s spirited play heralded Joe Ralls’s equaliser.

The final whistle saw a chorus of boos aimed both at Jones and his team, while Yeovil were given a standing ovation from those Wednesday fans who had bothered to stay to the torturous end.

“The crowd are quite entitled to have a groan because we are not playing well,” said Jones.

“But then the players have to rise above that and show them something.

“I don’t think we did that today, too many individuals made too many mistakes.

“We have to dig deep and see out games. We have been in front in four of our last five games and we have to make that advantage count.

“I don’t know whether there’s a bit of fear out there about playing in front of 20,000 of our supporters because we look a different side away from home.

“If that is the case we have to stop it and stop it fast because we have 20-odd home games to go.

“We played in front of 30,000 for our last home game last season and we were outstanding so something is not quite right.

“But no-one wants to go out and not play to the best of their ability. It’s not happening for us at home at the moment and we have to address that.

“We have to stand up and be counted.”

The worrying part is there were too few on Saturday who did that. With the much-publicised acceptance that new signings are needed to strengthen, there is a worry the current set of players will use that as a crutch to excuse their early-season falterings.

Jones is desperate to strengthen the spine of his team – centre-half Roger Johnson arrives today to bolster the back-four on a three-month loan from Wolverhampton – with a creative midfielder and striker necessities.

The manager’s hands are tied, he has no money to bring in new players, and owner Milan Mandaric is in negotiations to sell the Owls.

The financial restraints are clearly highlighted when Wednesday have a trio of midfielders with Premier League experience – Stephen McPhail, Seyi Olofinjana and Gary Taylor-Fletcher – training with the club, eager to secure a deal if money becomes available.

Since on-loan Leroy Lita returned to Swansea City last May, the Owls have been crying out for a proven striker, yet the summer passed with little movement.

It all adds to the growing sense of frustration inside Hillsborough, seeds of discontent which are in danger of growing into a troubled winter if key signings are not secured swiftly.

One summer arrival, Nuhiu, grabbed his second goal of the season for Wednesday to raise spirits inside Hillsborough against one of the few sides in the Championship with a smaller playing budget than the Owls.

Confusion over an offside call saw Yeovil’s defence falter – with the linesman initially flagging before the referee waved play on – allowing Michail Antonio to race away before feeding Austrian Nuhiu to score on 26 minutes.

Chris Kirkland produced several good saves to deny the vistors, thwarting Ed Upson and Andy Williams, and Kamil Zayatte hoofed off the line from James Hayter.

Yeovil’s afternoon deteriorated when Webster was rightly shown a straight card after punching Nuhiu, but the visitors came out after the break and played the more composed football.

So it was no shock to see Ralls volley home a 64th-minute equaliser – only Yeovil’s second goal of the season which would halt a five-match losing streak.

Wednesday huffed and puffed without ever looking likely to grab a winner. The closest they came was when Antonio picked up a loose ball at the far post, only to see his low shot strike the inside of the post and roll into grateful goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey’s arms.

With no midweek fixture, after their game with Wigan was postponed doe to their opponents playing in Europe, the Owls next head for Birmingham City on Saturday.

“When we go away we seem to be more relaxed, we get the ball down and play so I’m sure we will do the same thing at Birmingham,” said Jones, whose side also took the lead at QPR on the opening day of the season only to eventually lose 2-1.

“Whether the pressure gets to one or two at home I don’t know but as I say, we have to sort it.”

Sheffield Wednesday: Kirkland; Spence, Zayatte, Llera, R Johnson; Palmer (J Johnson, 63), Prutton (Semedo, 74), Coke, Helan (Maghoma, 79); Nuhiu, Antonio. Unused substitutes: C Dawson, Buxton, McCabe, Lavery.

Yeovil Town: Hennessey; Ayling, Webster, Seaborne, McAllister; Grant (K Dawson, 74), Edwards, Upson, Ralls (Moore, 90); Hayter (Fontaine, 42), Williams. Unused substitutes: Dunn, Foley, Ngoo, Davis.

Referee: G Eltringham (County Durham).

Wednesday have brought in Manchester City’s teenage centre-half George Swan – who started out at Leeds United, where his father Peter Swan also played in the Eighties – on a youth loan.