Dave Challinor wasn't messing around in his first post-match press conference as Sheffield Wednesday boss.

He said the first half against Oldham was played at a testimonial pace. He called for his team to be "miles better" when they play Plymouth in their next league game. He questioned whether the Wednesday players have been in their comfort zone for too long.

I think that final comment is the one that resonates the most.

Challinor is known for straight talking and backing up his words with action. Right now, what he's saying needs to be said and acted upon. Wednesday need a rocket. A big old jolt.

There are too many players who are not playing close to their maximum capabilities. Whether that's a form thing or simply because they need the proverbial kick up the backside, we'll see.

There are also a couple of things you can see the new boss needs.

First, it's greater health. Wednesday are having to patch a defence together every game, using players who aren't close to 100% with load-management situations to contend with too.

The ideal is always a settled back four (or three). Wednesday haven't been able to do that all season and I'm not sure they ever will be. Ricardo Santos and Liam Cooper, as good as they can be when fit and playing, are two of the players who need to have their minutes managed. Ditto Di'Shon Bernard having just returned from a long layoff.

Sil Swinkels has potential but has missed time through injury and suspension so far.

When Challinor gets Louie Barry back it'll cover a lot of warts. He and Davis Keillor-Dunn are a mouth-watering duo who could fire Wednesday to glory this year. They're as good a pair of forwards as any club has in League One.

The one player that is missing though is a proper number nine.

Wednesday missed a trick during the summer. Two players spring to mind — Michael Smith, the former Owl who joined Mansfield, and Jake Beesley who moved from Burton to Bradford.

Smith was available on a free transfer and would've done exactly what Wednesday need - lead the line, frustrate defenders, help the Owls get up the pitch and chip in with goals. He might be 35 now but he can still do a job as he's showing for the Stags.

Beesley might've been harder to acquire given he joined Bradford for an undisclosed fee. The financial restrictions placed on Wednesday made any signing a challenge over the summer. People will point to the fact he has only one goal for the Bantams so far, but he's a pain in the neck to play against - big and strong, he batters defenders and can hold it up.

It's not hindsight to mention these two names. We regularly talked about them on Football Heaven.

The number-nine role at Wednesday doesn't need to be purely about goals. Barry and Keillor-Dunn can do that. It's about connecting things, having a focal point in attack. They need a grown man up there and Smith or Beesley would've been useful.

If possible in January, it's the one position to address to give themselves the best possible chance of success in the second half of the season.