Sheffield Wednesday manager Tony Pulis has bemoaned the Owls’ squad building over the last couple of transfer windows and suggested that the current squad is the most ‘disjointed’ one that he has managed.

Pulis arrived at Hillsborough in difficult circumstances and would have been aiming to put a couple of wins together to help them move out of the relegation zone ahead of the winter window.

However, Sheffield Wednesday have so far struggled to gain any momentum under the experienced former Middlesbrough boss, and a 2-1 defeat at home to Barnsley on Saturday leaves them bottom.

The Owls have plenty of key issues that need to be addressed in January for them to survive the drop. Pulis has very limited options to call upon in the final third and there has been an issues over other players having to play somewhat out of position to plug gaps within the squad.

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Speaking to the media after their defeat against Barnsley, Pulis berated Sheffield Wednesday’s approach to the transfer window in recent times and suggested that the current squad he has inherited is the most disjointed one that he has worked with.

He said: “Out of all the clubs I’ve managed it’s probably as most disjointed a group as I’ve managed.

“And if you look at it, there’s six centre-halves; I don’t think we’ve got a left-back. We’ve got five 10s and really not a centre-forward.

“It swirls around, whatever you’re trying to do, you want to try to find that balance. The balance of a team is so, so important and an identity within that balance is so important.”

The Verdict

Pulis is a vastly experienced manager and there would have been hope that he could have got off to a much stronger start than he has done so far since taking over from Garry Monk.

However, he has yet to really find a solution to the Owls obvious issues in the final third and is struggling to find a system and line-up that can get them positive results.

There are areas of the squad which have been neglected in previous windows and Sheffield Wednesday must bring in another forward and some more wide players in January, but until then Pulis must continue to try and find a solution to their problems and try and grind out some results.

It was somewhat surprising to see him say he has not got a centre forward when Jordan Rhodes is available, but that perhaps shows how far the striker has fallen during the last few months. The Owls are a club that are desperate to get through the festive period and bring in some much-needed extra reinforcements.