Sheffield Wednesday coach Andy Holdsworth has spoken of the bonus of being able to field senior professionals with the under-23s recently, praising their attitude. 

Wednesday under-23s took on Burnley under-23s on Tuesday with a side that featured Jordan Rhodes, Jordan Thorniley, Ash Baker and captain Tom Lees.

Rhodes and Lees featured in the 1-1 draw as they continued their recovery from injury, whilst Baker and Thorniley have both been in the first-team squad this season, the latter making two appearances in the EFL Cup.

Lees has not featured for the Owls first-team since an injury in the warm-up prior to the clash with QPR back in August.

Speaking of having the senior players in the side, coach Andy Holdsworth told the club's official media channels: "It’s always a massive bonus having first team players involved, especially the club captain.

"The players manage themselves when they go over the white line and I think they have been missing that little bit of experience over the last couple of weeks so having the senior pros on the pitch was a boost for the young players," Holdsworth added.

Discussing how the senior players have an impact, Holdsworth said: "It only takes the older heads to have a little talk with them out there and it helps the young lads through the games with keeping that intensity level up.

"The lads need to aspire to what the likes of Jordan Thorniley and Ash Baker have achieved here as well as the other senior players and watch, listen and see how they act around the building and in games," added Holdsworth.

Commenting on the senior players' mindset, Holdsworth said: "We saw with the attitude of the senior players at Burnley that they are completely engrossed with the game."

The Verdict

It will be great news for Wednesday fans that Jordan Rhodes and captain Tom Lees are getting closer to match fitness and are getting minutes under their belts.

It speaks volumes of their professionalism that they are having an impact on the under-23 side and their level of dedication to these games should be a credit to both themselves and the coaching staff.

Young pros and fringe players such as Thorniley and Baker should use this as their own motivation to stake a claim for a place in the Wednesday first team.