Wednesday’s reset starts here: the questions ahead of Cambridge

Tuesday cannot arrive quickly enough when the previous Saturday has gone badly. There is a team to pick, a crowd to win over and, with luck, a match to occupy the mind instead of another evening spent going over the last one.

Cambridge United visit Hillsborough on 27 October, with kick-off scheduled for 7.45pm. For Wednesday, the fixture follows successive away defeats. A return home offers an opportunity; it does not supply an answer by itself.

The first question is how much to change. Altering the side can introduce fresh legs or address a specific weakness. It can also leave players learning new relationships during the very passages when they most need to trust one another. A good selection should make the intended way of playing easier to recognise.

Then there is the start. Supporters will understandably want urgency, but there is a difference between playing quickly and rushing. A forward pass is useful when somebody can receive it. Sending the ball into a crowded area simply to get it upfield can invite another attack before the midfield has recovered its position.

The player receiving the first forward pass needs help close by. Without it, possession comes straight back and the crowd’s early encouragement turns to frustration. Wednesday need enough players around the ball to sustain an attack, rather than make every pass an invitation to a tussle.

At the other end, the test is concentration when the match becomes untidy. Second balls, hurried clearances and runners arriving late are less glamorous than a carefully worked goal, but they can decide whether a home team settles or spends the evening chasing.

Doncaster had their two goals inside 16 minutes. Cambridge must be made to work much harder for any opening. Wednesday cannot keep asking their forwards to rescue games before they have had a chance to settle into them.