Portsmouth rivals Sheffield Wednesday' hold 'heated discussions' after Barnsley loss, Conor Chaplin uses cunning tactics to claim Ipswich spotlight and Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton backtracks on recent claims

Boss Darren Moore admitted a few honest conversations were had as the Owls suffered their second loss of the League One season to leave them four points adrift of early pace-setters Ipswich and Pompey, who both have 17 points from their seven games played.

‘I think the heated discussions were down to frustrations really,’ he told The Sheffield Star.

‘We just weren’t right at it today (Saturday).

‘The team we put out was for the consistency of the last few games, but it’s fair to say today that they weren’t right. We weren’t a patch on what we’ve been – we’ll have a discussion with the group.

‘I’m still scratching my head with it really.

‘It just wasn’t right, right the way through. Usually our forte is being excellent with the ball, I just thought we were loose with stray passes and just couldn’t get going.

‘Take nothing from Michael Duff and his (Barnsley) team, they set their stall out, so credit to them for the win, but we weren’t where we needed to be at.

‘We’re honest as a group and we didn’t execute the game plan. Me and the players know that.’

While there were heated discussions in the Owls changing room on Saturday, it was quite the opposite in the Ipswich one at Accrington following their 2-0 win at the Wham Stadium.

Former Pompey favourite Conor Chaplin inspired the Tractor Boys to victory following his introduction as a 62nd-minute substitute.

He claimed a goal and an assist in a win that sees Kieran McKenna’s side leapfrog the Blues at the top of the standings on goal difference.

However, Chaplin believes he should have been given both goals, and used some cunning tactics to ensure Wes Burns – who has been officially credited with Ipswich’s second – backed down on his claim to their side’s 87th-miunute second goal.

Indeed, the use of some good-natured bribery over FaceTime while conducting his post-match interviews with the media ensured the former blue took his tally to the season to five.

Here’s the East Anglian Daily Times’ account of the conversation…

Chaplin: Wes, I’ve got the journalists in front of me so say who the second goal scorer was, please?

Burns: It took a nick off my chest – it's a Burns goal, second of the season, see ya.

Chaplin: Wesley, tell them please.

Burns: I’ve seen the replay back, it’s taken a nick.

Chaplin: I’m going to show them a recording from inside the dressing room in a minute...

Burns: It was definitely Chaplin’s goal. Definitely Chaplin’s.

Chaplin: Have a good one, mate. Love you.

Elsewhere in the division, Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has backtracked on his bold prediction from two weeks ago that the Gas ‘within a short period of time we’ll be ahead of Portsmouth’.

That’s after he saw his side held to a 2-2 draw by third-from-bottom Morecambe at the Memorial Stadium.

The result leaves the Gas 16th in the table with eight points from their seven games played.

Barton told Bristol Live: ‘It is disappointing not to beat Morecambe at home, but another point gained. They are somebody who will be in the bottom part of the table.

‘We have to be better than four teams this year. I know the Gasheads don’t want to hear that and we want to push as high as we can in the table and the reality for us is establishing ourselves as a League One side and possibly building out from that.

‘But we mustn’t get carried away and think we can run before we can walk.’