Danny Rohl slams Sheffield Wednesday for ‘mindset’ issue vs Preston, demands ‘reaction’ from players

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Sheffield Wednesday missed a big opportunity to get a third-straight win when they faced Preston North End at Hillsborough, and Danny Rohl was not happy with what he saw.

Coming off the back of big away wins against Hull City and Derby County last week, expectations were high that Sheffield Wednesday could keep the good times coming at home to Preston.

However, a shocking first-half showing had Danny Rohl contemplating changes after just 15 minutes, and his team could only scrape a 1-1 draw in the end.

The Sheffield Wednesday manager did make those changes, and things improved in the second half, but by that point, the damage was already done.

• READ MORE: 18 passes, 86% success, there was one glaring positive for Sheffield Wednesday vs Preston

Sheffield Wednesday are forgetting the basics at Hillsborough

Speaking to Football Heaven on Twitter/X after the game at Hillsborough, Rohl vented his frustrations at the players for not reaching the right levels in front of the home crowd, and cited this as a recurring problem he does not want to see again.

“I think our mindset isn’t right at home,” Rohl said. “We try to play nice football and we forget what we first have to do in this division. We are not a team who can dominate opponents for 90 minutes. We have to do our basics right and start against the ball, be aggressive, be organised, help each other.”

Looking ahead, Rohl explained what he needs to see change, adding: “We need to speak about this, I said to my team today, this is a defeat for me, but I want to see a reaction on Tuesday.

“We think we can play our direction, always nice, but in such a game as this you have to come and work hard, and then we can start to make nice things. There was not enough from too many players today.”

Danny Rohl has every right to feel aggrieved with his players. They have to go into these home games ready to assert their dominance, control the flow of the game, and suffocate their opponents with organised, possession-based football.

Dropping points at home, especially against teams down at the lower end of the table, is not acceptable for a Wednesday side with aspirations of pushing for the play-offs.

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Blackburn game is now huge opportunity for Sheffield Wednesday

There are positives to carry forward, though. Sheffield Wednesday continue their unbeaten run, and have a great chance to keep that going for a few more games, too.

The home game against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday is now going to be a massive indicator as to which way Wednesday’s season will go from here. Win and the Owls can really close the gap on the teams in the play-offs, but lose, and Rohl’s men may see their sneaky promotion push fade off prematurely.

Last season, Sheffield Wednesday did the double over Blackburn. But, if they are to get a result this time round, the players will have to heed Rohl’s criticism post-Preston and ensure they do not switch off for a second against one of the league’s most in-form teams.

If those instructions aren’t carried out on Tuesday night, though, we dread to think how angry Rohl will be.