Danny Rohl has explained the one big decision he made before Sheffield Wednesday scored the winner against Rotherham United.
Sheffield Wednesday headed to the New York Stadium off the back of three wins in four games, while Rotherham sat glued to the bottom of the Championship table.
The Millers would have been desperate to put a dent in the Owls’ chances of survival, and for the most part they looked as if they could have, however it was Ike Ugbo that continued his brilliant goalscoring form and popped up with the winner on the hour mark.
The striker has now netted six goals in last five games for Sheffield Wednesday, helping them claim another vital three points in the Yorkshire derby at the weekend.
Danny Rohl certainly played his part though, making a key decision just minutes before Ugbo scored the only goal of the game.
Speaking to The Star, he explained: “I had the feeling that Ugbo needed a bit more freedom in the red zone, and that was the reason why I put Michael Smith in there to have in front as a target player. Dom, with his speed, could overlap and then we scored immediately.
“After that it was about bringing the game back home, so we switch again to a back five and brought Bambo in.”
He added: “When you look to some players you look at what they can do and you have a little bit of an idea in your mind… I know what my players did before, and I recognised the areas we can improve in.
“I am happy we got these players, not just one of them, and it’s good to see. He deserved it, he worked hard against the ball, it was not easy in his first role pressing and knowing he would not get the ball, it was about forcing the long ball. He did well, and that’s why he deserves his goal. Now it’s about good recovery, and then we go again on Tuesday.”
Are Sheffield Wednesday on the road to survival?
Danny Rohl deserves praise for switching it up tactically and going all in to get that win, as it could have completely backfired and left Sheffield Wednesday in a much worse position.
But as it stands, the Owls are still very much in with a brilliant chance of staying up. Results didn’t go their way over the weekend, but a defeat could have left them six points from safety.
As time goes on, it is starting to feel like Ike Ugbo and Danny Rohl will spearhead a brilliant end to the campaign.
For once, the club have enjoyed a brilliant January transfer window that could genuinely be the result of a second year in the Championship.