Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk delivers Everton verdict ahead of Middlesbrough clash

The Owls, who will face Boro at the Riverside on Saturday, suffered their first defeat under Monk after losing 2-0 to the Toffees at Hillsborough.

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored two goals inside the opening ten minutes, and Monk, who made eight changes for the match, described both goals as ‘avoidable’.

Even so, the Wednesday boss was pleased with the way his side competed.

“A lot of our performance offensively and defensively were very good,” Monk told the Sheffield Star.

“The only times we really got hurt were through our own mistakes where a cheap ball that we gave away, or a loose pass or not quite holding the ball when we need to hold it, they broke on us.

“I thought we recovered well and offensively we created enough opportunities to score a couple of goals and if we had taken them we’d have been alright.”

Wednesday captain Tom Lees remains a doubt for the game against Boro and is still recovering from a hamstring injury.

“We have still got some training days before the weekend now,” said Monk after the Everton match. “We are assessing him every day and seeing how he feels.

"He is progressing and doing really well. He is closer to it. He might come in tomorrow (Wednesday) and not feel the pain and away we go."