Danny Rohl has heaped praise on a Sheffield Wednesday star who had his ‘best performance’ since joining the club at the weekend.
Speaking to the Examiner Live, the German manager claimed that Mallik Wilks ‘showed what he can do’ against Birmingham City.
Mallik Wilks joined Sheffield Wednesday from Hull City last summer, despite only scoring eight league goals for the Tigers.
The attacker struggled to improve on his goal tally after moving to Hillsborough, scoring once and providing five assists as the Owls were promoted from League One.
Wilks went onto suffer an injury back in April and had been sidelined up until October, but was yet to make his first start of the campaign. The forward had even been left out of the squad all together for the three games prior to the international break, before he was named in the starting line-up at the weekend.
Despite previously questioning his work-rate in training, Danny Rohl was very impressed with the 24-year-old’s display against the Blues.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Rohl said: “I think it was maybe Mallik’s best performance since he arrived here at this club.
“He showed what he can do, he showed his potential, and this is also the challenge for me – to improve my players.
“Mallik showed in the last two weeks what he can do on the pitch, and he invested a lot. His physical data showed that he sprinted a lot, but he was also the guy that scored a lot over the last 14 days in training. So he scored a lot of goals and showed his quality in the box – I spoke to him before the game and demanded from him to transfer it from training to the match.
“He showed what he can do. He was strong, he fought for every ball. He became a little bit tired, but that’s normal. It’s what I like, and it’s good to see the improvement. I believe in my players, and making them better.”
Could Mallik Wilks fix Sheffield Wednesday’s problems?
Mallik Wilks has really struggled to get going since arriving in Sheffield last year, but he could end up being another player that Danny Rohl looks to transform.
The 34-year-old has also brought the likes of Marvin Johnson and Reece James in from the cold, and now he will be eager to help improve Wilks as he looks to strengthen their underperforming attack.
There is no doubt that Sheffield Wednesday need some reinforcements up top, but for now, there is no harm in seeing what Rohl can get out of Wilks before he potentially leaves the club.