Sheffield Wednesday coach Henrik Pedersen says Sheffield Wednesday players ‘have to be more fit’.
Sheffield Wednesday picked up an impressive point at home to Leicester City in midweek, in what was a memorable night for everyone involved.
Danny Rohl really cemented his connection with the fans after tactically matching, if not outdoing Leicester City on the night, before high-fiving Wednesday fans after the full-time whistle.
There’s still a mountain to climb for Sheffield Wednesday. But that point vs Leicester proved to the fans and to the players that, under Rohl at least, the Owls have a fighting chance.
Rohl addressing key areas
Since his arrival, Rohl has managed to completely transform the way Sheffield Wednesday play.
He’s only overseen seven games, but already the Owls are playing a much different style; there’s more tempo and more possession, and more shots with the Owls recording 14 against Leicester on Wednesday night.
But fitness remains an issue, according to Owls assistant Henrik Pedersen, and it’s something that the staff have been working on in recent weeks.
Pedersen told Yorkshire Live in a recent interview:
“Firstly, the players have to be more fit. They have not been fit enough. We are coming deeper in the playing style. It’s not enough to just have the ball, we want to create something. Tempo on the ball is important and we want more players to break the final line.”
A key issue for Sheffield Wednesday
Rohl and Xisco Munoz‘s styles were very different.
Munoz perhaps had similar ideas but no real way of implementing them, whereas Rohl is slowly proving himself as a great tactician and communicator.
The German wants his players pressing high up the pitch and allowing the opposition very little time to rest, so he obviously needs his players to be as fit as possible.
The style of play was very lax and laborious under Munoz. But it’s evident that the players have been working on their fitness levels since Rohl’s arrival, and he’ll continue to press home this issue until he’s got the team firing.
Survival remains a very difficult task and achieving it would be nothing short of a miraculous achievement for everyone involved.
But for that to happen, the wins need to start coming in, and the Owls have another tricky home game against Blackburn Rovers on the cards this weekend.