Paul Jewell's cash-strapped strugglers sunk to a club record eighth successive defeat on Tuesday night at Burnley to leave them stranded at the foot of Division One.

Sterland played 335 games for the Owls in a Hillsborough career that spanned a decade.

He believes if Wednesday are to save their season then highly-paid foreigners Gilles de Bilde - currently on loan at Aston Villa - Wim Jonk and Gerald Sibon must be booted out as soon as possible.

Sterland raged: 'The young players come in and run about for the club while the big foreign names just don't care.

'The older players aren't providing any back-up for the juniors and they're letting themselves, their fans and their club down.

'Paul Jewell is trying to sell them because of the money they are on, but nobody wants to know because they're not good enough.'

Jewell has been forced to unload 11 players since his arrival in the summer to ease the Owls' crippling debts of around £12million.

Sterland insists no blame whatsoever can be attached to the club's boss, insisting: 'He's got his hands tied. He's not being given any money and he can't get rid of half his team.

'It's a massive, massive mountain to climb and he'll find it very, very hard. I said when we dropped out of the Premiership that we could do a Man City and at the moment it looks like it's going to happen.