Sheffield Wednesday are looking to build on their 2023/24 Championship survival.
Danny Rohl has been bolstered with a completely new-look squad ahead of the new Championship campaign, with nine arrivals already confirmed at Hillsborough.
Sheffield Wednesday are looking to bring in further recruits to S6, with a deal being pursued for Ike Ugbo, who has been given a £4.5million price-tag.
Although there are many new faces at Sheffield Wednesday this season, the Owls still have many key figures from last season, including the likes of Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer and Josh Windass, all three of which signed a new deal to keep them at Hillsborough for the 2024/25 Championship season.
Even though Rohl’s tenure at Sheffield Wednesday has been a riveting success so far, he has still identified weaknesses in the side that clawed their way to survival last season, with the German manager identifying a key aspect in their play that must be altered this season.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl addresses ‘running distance’ issues from last season
Rohl has identified that Sheffield Wednesday’s side didn’t quite live up to his expectations regarding ‘running distance’ last season.
Speaking to The Star, Rohl said: “Last season our running distance in ball possession was too small and this is exactly what we have been working on.
“We have to be active, to understand which is the pressing line of the opponent and in which position we have to be, to receive the ball, to speed up our game.
“This at the moment is a crucial part, we have trained this in different ways, sometimes with opponents, sometimes passing drills, sometimes small games.
“This is the way we train, sometimes you train with the ball, sometimes immediately against the ball.”
Rohl has already sought to bring in the likes of Svante Ingelsson, who is renowned for his pressing, stamina and energy in the centre-of-the-park, something that he is hoping for his entire squad to follow suit with.
Danny Rohl’s ‘passing drills’ are already making a significant impact for Sheffield Wednesday
The Sheffield Wednesday boss has made it adamantly clear that he has looked to increase the intensity of his build-up play, looking to knock it about with pace and conviction, which is something that was evident in Sheffield Wednesday’s clash with Werder Bremen in a pre-season friendly.
Anthony Musaba’s goal was a trademark Rohl move, from Windass’ move through the centre, to finding a man in acres of space on the right.
Both Windass and Jamal Lowe were praised by Rohl for their efforts during the game, and it’s clear to see that more players, no matter how long they have been at the club, are taking a shine to Rohl’s philosophy and style of play.
Sheffield Wednesday did incredibly well in the latter 60 minutes of their clash with Werder Bremen to implement what Rohl has been looking for, something which if they can get consistently right could significantly improve Sheffield Wednesday both offensively and defensively this season.