Sheffield Wednesday v Stevenage: Owls told to roll up sleeves and forget departures

Madine has netted 12 goals this season but has only scored once in his last 10 games – either side of a two-month injury lay-off over Christmas – and told Megson he was missing the creative spark of Marshall.

The winger was recalled by Premier League Stoke City last month and subsequently sold to Leicester City for £1m after a successful loan stint at Hillsborough.

But Megson revealed: “I have spoken to Gary and he went on about Ben Marshall and the amount of chances he created for the 12 goals he has got.

“In reality, he only got three from when Ben last touched it to when Gary scored. And one of them was a free-kick against Yeovil.

“That’s not a reason for not performing quite as well. In fact, in terms of people that have left the club, the one we miss the most is James O’Connor.

“But they have gone and we need the players still here to roll their sleeves up and have a good go.

“Forwards go through this. They are judged on how many goals they score, but there’s other things that they do that can add to the team.

“Gary’s not doing what he was doing before when he was scoring goals. But he is still a good player, the same person, exactly the same way on and off the field.”

Since Marshall’s exit, the Owls have brought in Tottenham midfielder John Bostock on loan and signed Mike Jones from Bury.

Megson was left fuming after Wednesday tossed away three points at Exeter City on Saturday, a win which would have given the Owls breathing space ahead of tonight’s top-six battles.

It prompted an angry outburst from Megson in his post-match interviews when he moaned: “We have a few players who think they are better than they are.”

The team then joined some of the club’s 1,500 fans on a long train trek back from Devon, and admitted that simply increased his frustration at letting down the long-suffering supporters.

“The performance wasn’t that bad; it was the result and the manner of how the result came about,” he said. “I was so negative (talking to the media) after the Exeter game because I was devastated. It was a huge game for us. We chucked it away, we didn’t lose.

“What made it worse was going back on the train, with 18 or 19 Wednesday supporters, some of whom were eight-year-olds who had been taken there by their dads. They were a huge credit to this football club and this city and we let them down.

“I wasn’t being rude to them; a lot of them came up to me and wanted to talk, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, I was a bit angry. I was a bit raw. But I have dusted myself off, picked myself up and off we go again.”

Centre-half Miguel Llera (head) is a doubt.

Last six games: Owls WDDWLL, Stevenage LWWDWW.

Last time: No previous corresponding meetings.

Referee: S Mathieson (Cheshire).