Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk has offered a blunt response when asked about long-serving goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, which certainly raises question marks over his future at Hillsborough.
What’s he said?
The Owls take a break from Championship action on Friday night as they face a trip to league rivals Queens Park Rangers for an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Loftus Road.
Monk’s side recorded a historic victory over Premier League side Brighton to get here, but last time out they were dealt a humiliating blow by losing 5-0 to Blackburn Rovers.
The 40-year-old was left “shocked” by the performance as he revealed in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon whilst he also offered injuries updates on a trio of players.
Both Liam Palmer and Fernando Forestieri are back training, but he wasn’t so forthright over Westwood’s situation. He simply said:
“Yeah, he’s fit.”
Garry Monk, pre-game press conference.
Unlikely future
The 35-year-old has been at the south Yorkshire club since the summer of 2014 when he was signed by former boss Stuart Gray. He has gone on to play 179 matches for the Owls and has twice been named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
Recently however, Westwood has struggled to keep his number one spot under Monk ever since picking up an injury in November.
In fact, he has been missing from the starting line up in 12 straight games now in all competitions and has only been named on the bench twice in that run.
Cameron Dawson has been favoured between the sticks while both Paul Jones and another goalkeeper returning from injury, Joe Wildsmith, have been selected above him on the bench.
Who the heck is that?! Can you name all of these obscure Sheffield Wednesday players…
The veteran shot-stopper has another year on his current deal at Hillsborough, but his recent exclusion from the matchday squad despite being fit only raises doubts over whether or not he has a future at the club.
Monk’s frank admission doesn’t fill you with enough confidence to say otherwise either.
And in other news, Alan Nixon reveals that the Owls are some way off in their pursuit of this Premier League striker…