Danny Rohl needs Sheffield Wednesday assurances from Dejphon Chansiri amid Sunderland 'interest'

Sunderland are preparing for their final Championship match of the season against Sheffield Wednesday - amid reports opposition boss Danny Rohl is on the Black Cats’ shortlist to become their next head coach.

The 35-year-old German took charge of Wednesday in October, when the club were rock bottom of the Championship and seven points from safety, but has taken them to the brink of survival. The Owls only need to draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light to secure their place in the division for next season, following back-to-back wins against Blackburn and West Brom.

To find out more about Rohl, we caught up with Owls reporter Alex Miller from our sister title the Sheffield Star to ask about the German.

What are the main changes Rohl has made at Wednesday?

AM: “One of the big demands for him is intensity, and Wednesday hadn’t had that. They looked like a set of players who were feeling a bit sorry for themselves in the opening few weeks. Now I think they have only been outrun by their opponents on a handful of occasions under Rohl. 

“They don’t necessarily press from the front but everything is high intensity and you can see that it makes life very difficult for opposition teams. Also the spirit of the place, he’s a good communicator, the fans were onboard with him very early on and obviously the results have dragged all that with him.”

How does he set his side up? 

AM: “A lot of his thinking is around keeping the opposition team guessing. He’s chopped and changed so much, they’ve had good results on the road playing a back three and a four. In terms of what to expect, high intensity, they can mix it up in terms of their passing approach. There were times earlier in the season when Wednesday seemed hell-bent on short passing and playing out from the back. 

“The last few weeks we have seen a little bit of a shift on that front. It seems to have made the players just a little bit more comfortable. These aren’t Danny Rohl’s players and asking them to play out from the back at times just got them into a little bit of trouble.“

What are the chances he stays at Wednesday next season?

AM: “His stock is very, very high and I think that’s why he’s been touted for some of these jobs. It will be an interesting few weeks. He’s spoken quite candidly about the assurances he needs from the owner Dejphon Chansiri. The assurances that he needs is around a proper club strategy and that’s something that Wednesday have never really had in the time that Chansiri has been at the wheel.

“Danny Rohl comes from a Red Bull background where everything is sort of meticulous and everything points towards an end goal and is carefully planned. Obviously the other clubs that he’s worked at are very sophisticated in terms of their off-field infrastructure. It will be fascinating to see how those conversations go and I don’t think anyone truly knows. 

“Danny Rohl I think has got every right to expect to go right to the very top. It’s been a real pleasure to see what he’s done. From a Wednesday perspective, let's hope he does it for a very long time.”