Wednesday's unity and heart cannot be denied

Sheffield Wednesday picked up another unwanted stat during the weekend defeat at Ipswich.

They have let in more goals than all bar two teams in all European professional leagues so far this season.

With a goals against tally of 43, they are worse than Wolves (37) and Newport County (41) in the English Leagues.

Only Glenavon in the Irish Premiership (45) and Llanelli Town (50) in the Cymru Premier surpass them in all active pro leagues in Europe.

If you are a Wednesday fan who believes in the phrase "goals win games", then that stat will put you off your Christmas dinner.

However, there is one obvious thing this Owls side has which cannot be captured in stats. And that is heart.

Despite all the mayhem going on around them, it is clear when watching them how unified they are as a team and how they are not afraid to take risks to win for their fans.

It is that unity of thought - a connected crew - which manager Henrik Pedersen said he was proud of in post-match interviews. It also caused a few nervous moments for high-flying Ipswich, who could have been at least a goal behind in the first quarter of the game.

Sometimes pride is more of a driver than points. And with relegation almost certain for Wednesday due to circumstances beyond the players' control, they do have the freedom to play their way.

As long as that passion is in their performance, fans will be happy with them.