Previous Barry Bannan comments on this Sheffield Wednesday hero are now being proved right.
Sheffield Wednesday are certainly on the up.
Despite a 2-0 defeat at Leeds United last Friday, and despite the Owls still being in the drop zone, there’s a very good feeling about the club right now.
Before Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday had won their previous four games, winning five of the previous six.
At one point last month, the Owls were eight points from safety, but now Sheffield Wednesday are just nine points from the mid-table position, and a point from safety.
And one man is largely behind the upturn.
Danny Rohl has inspired Sheffield Wednesday turnaround
Whilst the players deserve a huge amount of credit for their performances, Danny Rohl is the man who is, and should be taking all the plaudits.
The 34-year-old with his innovative ideas and likeable manner has helped turn Sheffield Wednesday into a very dangerous team in the Championship.
And it’ll have come as no surprise to skipper Barry Bannan, who made these comments about Rohl back in November, shortly after he was appointed in the October.
“We have got a top manager involved now, and it’s difficult to describe it but I would say he is probably the best manager I have had in my whole football career,” Bannan explained. “We need to trust in him to get us out of this because I think he is destined for the top.
“I have sometimes found myself in team meetings thinking; ‘wow’, kind of thing. Or ‘how has he seen that?’ He has shown me things on the tactics board, in meetings and in games that I have never seen any manager do.
“We have the right man in charge and it’s just about sticking with him and I have got no doubt that this club will see better days.”
‘Destined for the top’
Rohl has certainly shown his class during his short time in charge of Sheffield Wednesday.
He’s taken largely the same set of player as Xisco Munoz, a promotion-winning Championship boss, and completely transformed their fortunes.
Not only are his tactics and set ups to be admired, but it seems like Rohl’s man management has played a huge part; the players really want to play for him and to not let him down, which is evident in the energy and passion that Wednesday players show on the pitch.
And Bannan is arguably one of the players who’s benefitted most from Rohl’s arrival.
He was being suffocated under Munoz, often asked to play higher up the pitch and to play when injured as well.
But Rohl has found a system that gets the best out of Bannan; and when Bannan is at his best, Sheffield Wednesday are at their best.
There’s still a lot of anxiety about the future of Rohl at Hillsborough, especially after recent reports revealed Championship interest in Rohl.
But he remains in S6 for the time being and if Sheffield Wednesday stay up, there seems to be a good chance that Rohl stays too.