- Gap in class too wide says Stuart Gray
- Manchester City romp home 7-0
- Owls come unstuck in second half
Stuart Gray pinpointed the gulf between the Premiership and the Championship following the 7-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium.
The Owls were swept aside by the top-flight giants in a Capital One Cup third round second half that spawned all seven goals for the rampant hosts.
And Gray said: “It just showed the difference between the two divisions.
“Players at this level take their chances, they find their passes and that is the difference.
“Manchester City were clinical in that second half. Before that, I thought we did OK but if you allow a team like City the time to punish you, they will.
“But this was a bonus game for us. When we came out of the hat with Manchester City, we wanted to get as much out of the game as possible and it was an experience for our players, I will say that.”
Gray recognised the respect City afforded to the Owls, though, when he saw the home side’s team sheet before kick-off.
The Owls’ head coach added: “I thought Manuel might have made more changes than he did but as I said to the players, they showed us respect.
“We came here to get a result and in the first half we did really well.
“But when a team like Manchester City gets the bit between their teeth, they are very difficult to stop.
“But we will bounce back, I can assure you of that. We will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and make sure we are ready for Cardiff on Saturday.”