Henrik Pedersen talked of a tough afternoon for Wednesday at Preston today.

The home side were worthy 3-0 winners and the Owls boss told swfc.co.uk: “It was a tough game against a strong, strong opponent.

“I think until the first goal, we were very equal in the game and we were well in it. Defensively, we were well organised on the ball, we had a good balance and until the goal, it was a good performance.

“But after the goal, we didn’t get those levels back again and, in the second half, it was difficult.

“To go from just having the ball to creating something with the ball was a challenge for us.

“The last two games, we have had good performances but to have the energy and the belief to do it when you are 2-0 down, we missed that today.”

The next fixture for our limited squad sees us at QPR for a midday kick off on Sunday, Pedersen adding: “We have to rest now, it has been a tough Christmas for our boys. We have a small group of senior players and a big group of young players.

“It’s hard for them but, again, how they are working today with the effort and what they are bringing on the pitch is credit to them.

“We have to rest and try to show who we are against QPR in three days.”