Sheffield Wednesday legend Chris Waddle issues Owls with a specific warning as they battle with Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle for a top-two finish in League One

Wednesday head into Saturday's League One game at Derby County on the back of an impressive seven-match unbeaten league streak.

But in what has all the makings of a three-horse race for automatic promotion with Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle which could well go right down to the wire, Waddle has concerned over Wednesday's capacity to sit on leads in his view.

Despite their strong run, Darren Moore's side have dropped points from winning positions against Lincoln City and Bristol Rovers and in what looks set to be an ultra-tight battle for the top two, margins could be tight.

Waddle said: “A lot of the performances have been positive – Sheffield Wednesday now need to get out of this league and I’m very confident they can do that this season.

“But the only thing I don’t like with Wednesday at the moment is when we take the lead then drop deep. I’ve never played in a team like that before, so I don’t know why teams would do it.

“In that league, the ball goes in the box a lot – it can drop anywhere and you can score – so I don’t see the sense in getting men behind the ball and trying to frustrate teams.

"A lot of games over the past two seasons we’ve seen Wednesday concede a lot of late goals, so I don’t understand why we try to defend deep.

“I’d like to see them stay on the front foot and try to kill the game off, rather than trying to defend a one-goal lead.”

Wednesday are the latest former Premier League club and 'sleeping giant' to find themselves having to cope with the reality of being in League One and Waddle is the first to acknowledge that getting out of it quickly is no foregone conclusion - in a division that must be respected.

He added: “It’s not easy to get out – it’s not as if you’re going in with Premier League or Championship players, you’re going in with League One players.“We’ve seen a lot of big clubs in this league over the past four or five years who shouldn’t be in it, but if you manage your books wrong and don’t have the right players or don’t do the right things, then it shows it can happen to anybody.

“I think 'take it a step at a time.' It’s not as easy as people think, everyone expects you should win every game and it just doesn’t happen – even Manchester City don’t win every game.

"A lot of the performances have been positive, so as long as that’s happening then there’s no reason why Sheffield Wednesday can’t go back up.“They’ve got one of the biggest and best squads in that league, so there’s no reason why they can’t get out.”

Chris Waddle was speaking at the launch of William Hill’s first Home Shop in Hillsborough. Home Shops give customers a unique matchday experience, with another eight going live when the Premier League returns.