Further recruitment cannot be ruled out but the club are determined, above all, to keep star defenders Mark Beevers and Richard Wood.

Although Coventry are lining up a new £1 million bid for Wood, I understand he will not be sold.

A further enquiry from the Sky Blues is believed to have been made a fortnight ago and it was firmly rebuffed.

Results have been par for the course so far. Four points from three games… six goals scored and six conceded. All evidence that the pre-season projection of mid-table is about right.

But Laws is convinced that the four points should have been "six at least" as he attempts to bridge the gap between a comfortable position and a competitive campaign in the top half of the table.

His balancing trick is to infuse a stronger defensive mentality into an essentially attack-minded side – without curbing their natural instinct. And the last thing he needs is to lose a key player from an already thin squad.

Laws said: "A sign of a good team is one that can grind out a result when it is not playing well. For instance, you've got to be able to hold on to a 1-0 lead."

The Owls boss, referring to last week's 1-1 home draw with Preston, has seen Wednesday perform well – spectacularly so at times – in purple patches. Where they have fallen short, in a reverse of last season's trend, is in the second half of games.

Burnley, Wolves and Preston have all been run ragged in the opening 45 minutes. Hence, Laws feels the return should have been higher.

His concerns are not to do with fitness but durability. He will perhaps expect higher standards from a defensive unit that, individually and collectively, looks arguably the strongest department of the side.

He said: "But our conceding of goals has come from other areas. We've been very attack-minded but it's always nice to have a cushion to work with and it's not all about the back four.

"Defending as a team is the area we're working on – it's more to do with that than individuals.

"Some of our young defenders are still learning the game. I hope they learn quickly and I expect them to get better and better."

With James O'Connor looking an accomplished midfield anchorman – does anyone else see a similarity with Graham Hyde? – and the energetic Sean McAllister alongside him, Wednesday have a strong heartbeat that truly sets the pulses racing when Etienne Esajas and Jermaine Johnson are released down the flanks.

Esajas's emergence can be pinpointed to the essence of what Laws is seeking from all of his players to maximise their ability.

He said: "Etienne is showing the football we knew he could produce but he's also doing the dirty bits, the tracking back etc. He's been more than aware of the need for this because we've spoken about it. It's taken about six months for him to get to grips with that part of the game and we're now seeing what he can do."

The only real negative so far at Hillsborough – aside from the takeover saga – was the modest 17,000 crowd for the Preston game.

You wonder if there is a link between the two with a substantial number of fans having resolved not to renew their season tickets unless the club was under new ownership.

Laws, "not giving a thought" to the ownership issue, prefers to look on the bright side in pointing out that it was Bank Holiday weekend.

"I hope it was a one-off and sometimes results can dictate attendances," he said, knowing that a winning team will always put politics into second place.

His squad is thin but today's firm declaration that the club are not in financial trouble should help keep bidders for Wood and Beevers at the door.



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