Sheffield Wednesday may have gone down to a 2-0 defeat at Cardiff on Saturday but the club can take a number of positives from the performance.
The squad was already heavily depleted by injuries prior to the build up to this game and so to be hit with more names being added to the treatment table along with others suffering from illness really put them on the back foot even before kick-off.
The extent of the Owls predicament was so bad that they could not even name a full squad of 16, thus having to do without one potential substitute option.
Wednesday, whose line-up usually has a youthful feel to it anyway with the likes of Beevers and Spurr regulars in the side gave full debuts to 17-year-old Nathan Modest and Luke Boden, aged 20. Modest, a striker by trade even had to fill in out of position wide on the right and should be encouraged by breaking into the side at this stage of his career.
To be fair Cardiff enjoyed the better of the game and were good value for the three points in the end but the young Wednesday team battled away throughout and can take solace in the fact that it took a deflected effort to finally break them down.
The more worrying aspect is that while it is encouraging to see young players come through the ranks and break into the first team it is clear that this has happened out of necessity rather than choice and in an ideal world these players would have a more gradual progression into the first eleven.
With two games in quick succession after Christmas, Wednesday will be desperate to get some players back off the treatment table as soon as possible.
The likes of Jimmy Smith and Wade Small, who have been laid low by illness, should be on the road to recuperation in time for these fixtures but may not be 100% if they are unable to train sufficiently in the next few days.
Less likely is the return of strike duo Francis Jeffers and Leon Clarke, who have groin and hamstring problems.
This is a blow as the two have been the preferred strike duo during the Owls recent good run of form. It represents yet another setback for Jeffers who has been dogged by injuries throughout his time at Hillsborough and is yet to consistently prove his worth.
Clarke has had a troubled time at the club but the past few weeks have represented the best form he has shown to date and he was just beginning to get on side with the supporters and so he will be really disappointed to be forced out of the reckoning.
Wednesday face Blackpool at Hillsborough on Boxing Day and this is followed by a trip to Coventry City on the 28th.