Former Sheffield Wednesday defender Jon Newsome has claimed that a lack of confidence is the main reason for the Owls’ poor defensive form at the moment, and believes it holds the key for them getting back to their best.

Garry Monk’s side have massively fallen away in the race for promotion this season as their form in the New Year makes for some awful reading. They have managed just one league win in 2020, with two other wins coming in the FA Cup, and this poor run has seen them slip from the play-off race to 12th-place and nine points behind sixth-place with just 13 games left to play.

Seven defeats in the last 10 league games has asked a lot of questions of Garry Monk and his side as players have the futures cast into huge doubt before a potential summer clear-out.

Wednesday weren’t far off having one of the league’s best defensive records a few months after Monk’s appointment but constant errors and inconsistent performances have dashed those hopes.

Speaking to the Sheffield Star, former Owls defender Jon Newsome claimed that a major factor in their search for good form is the confidence. He stated: “It all boils down to confidence.

 “It’s the be-all and end-all for me. They’ve made mistakes and their confidence has taken a bit of a knock.

“It’s a snowball effect. When you’re on the top of your game you’re full of confidence, you make hundreds if not thousands of different decisions and when you’re on top of your game they’re instant and automatic.

“When you’re struggling a bit you analyse everything and let it become an issue.”

While Wednesday’s defensive line hasn’t been covering itself in much glory, neither has stopper Cameron Dawson who looks low on confidence and form. Newsome added: “You need confidence in the guy that’s behind you as a defender. When you’re playing in front of a keeper who’s positive, who’s reliable and you know what he’s going to do, it fills you with confidence. You bounce off him.

“But when you concede goals it’s not just about the back five with the goalkeeper. It has to be a unit.

“I’ve looked at some of the goals we’ve conceded in recent weeks and we’re not defending from the front. They’ve carved us up in the middle of the park.

“These are the things that added up become a big issue.”

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The verdict

Form typically goes hand-in-hand with confidence and it works both ways for teams and individuals.

If a player is playing very well, they will continue to grow in confidence, but if they aren’t, then their outlook on their own abilities plummets as the weeks drag on.

Monk has been here before in his playing and managerial career so he’ll have methods of getting the players back to their best one way or another.

What doesn’t help the defenders is the poor form of the midfield and attack too that could bail out the mistakes on any given day if they’re playing well.