Wycombe v Sheffield Wednesday - Actions must speak louder than words for Owls

Manager Garry Monk has tried to bring about a cultural change this season based on collective responsibility and a willingness for everyone to speak freely.

That was in evidence, captain Bannan says, after the 3-0 loss but now comes the real test – whether they can turn it into a much-needed victory at Wycombe Wanderers this afternoon.

“The gaffer’s trying to instil in us this season that everyone needs to speak up, come out of their shell and be leaders,” said Bannan, who is in discussions over a new contract. “Maybe last season was a bit of same voices week in, week out.

“When you come to a new club you tend to hold back but even the new signings have had things to say, which is brilliant.”

Three consecutive defeats have punctured the positivity at Hillsborough and revived questions about Monk’s future.

“The last two results have been nowhere near good enough for this club,” admitted Bannan. “There’s going to be unrest among the fans – we should be winning these games, there’s no excuse.

“We’ve got a massive week and if we can put the last two results to bed, that will show we’ve improved. Last season, we got caught in a rut after results like this.

“I’m not really worried about that because the only people who can get us out of it are us. It would be different if you were relying on somebody else.

“But words are words and there needs to be actions.”

Monk has called for perspective and asked that his players only be judged on this season.

“I said judge me on my overall record but I don’t think it’s fair to judge this team on the season before,” he argued.

“People talk about two wins in eight but I have to put perspective on it and all the way up to the Birmingham game (the Owls’ last win, four matches ago) it was perceived as a really good start, performances were very good.“

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