Under-pressure Irvine wary of threat posed by Hereford

Owls fans turned on their manager after scraping a 2-2 draw against nine-man Yeovil Town on Tuesday night to leave Wednesday languishing in mid-table.

In five games since Milan Mandaric – the Serb-born businessman known for his ruthless streak in sacking managers – completed his Owls takeover, they have yet to register a win in League One.

Their only success came in a 3-0 win at Bristol City in the FA Cup, and Saturday's fourth-round tie against League Two strugglers Hereford Town is a potential banana skin for Wednesday.

"I understand the fans' frustration, absolutely," said Irvine. "I think everyone was frustrated. I can fully understand that. The message to them is we will carry on working as hard as we have been and, hopefully, things will turn around."

Irvine knows Mandaric will not accept failure to reach the Championship this season, but is pragmatic about his future.

"I would love to continue (as manager), but that's not my decision," he said.

"It's not something within my control, I will wait to see what developments there are, if there are any.

"It is up to us to make sure the mood of the supporters is right. We have to get the results. If we win the games, we score goals and don't concede them, then the fans will be happy. But at this moment they have a right to be unhappy.

"Hereford will be coming here thinking 'what a great game, what a great place to go and play, this will be absolutely fantastic'. They will be really up for it and we have to deal with that."

Part of Irvine's problem is trying to integrate his influx of January signings into the team. He made six changes on Tuesday night

after the 4-0 defeat at Leyton Orient, including three new signings in defence.

It will take time for the new players to settle, a commodity Irvine knows he does not have in abundance.

"I just cannot fault the lads'

effort in the way they went about Tuesday night," he said. "Obviously we could have made better decisions at times, but that's the way things are.

"It's been difficult for the new players to settle in. Michael Morrison finished on the right in a back three, Reda Johnson got another goal but gave away too many fouls – something which we will work on with him – and Mark Reynolds was quiet, but steady."

Wednesday had to twice come from behind on Tuesday, but were thwarted by Yeovil goalkeeper Stephen Henderson, plus a controversial decision by referee Trevor Kettle to make Giles Coke retake his second-half penalty. Coke's original effort was ruled out after Kettle spotted Paul Heffernan and two Yeovil defenders had stepped into the penalty area, but missed the second attempt, to leave Irvine calling the decision "ridiculous".

"I don't think you will see many penalties ordered to be retaken over the course of the season for encroachment. We see it time after time after time.

"Encroachment? That never happens does it, apart from every penalty you see. Ridiculous. If that's the case then every penalty should be retaken. I know that's the rule, but it is not followed. I was astonished.

"It's very frustrating and a game we should have won. It was full of incident. There were times when I thought 'what more do we have to do?'"

Referee Kettle has reported Wednesday to the Football

Association after coins were thrown onto the pitch near the end of Tuesday's game, leaving the Owls fearing sanctions.