Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl said that choosing the starting XI in his first game as Owls boss was ‘difficult’.
Rohl was appointed as Wednesday boss during the international break, after former manager Xisco Munoz was sacked after failing to win in the first ten Championship games.
Rohl made eight changes in the 1-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday afternoon – a drastic difference to the team picked by U21 manager Neil Thompson in the 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town a fortnight ago, who was in interim charge at the time.
Owls boss on ‘difficult’ selection
Players such as Michael Smith, Will Vaulks and Di’Shon Bernard – who came off a brilliant international break away with Jamaica – were all dropped to the bench.
However, Rohl felt he picked the right team, telling Yorkshire Live: “It was difficult but I spoke with all the coaches. It was my feeling and today I said these are my guys.
“It’s difficult after just four days to decide what we need. But the first XI and subs showed today they’re ready for this.”
Danny Rohl can be encouraged
Despite the loss, it was certainly a performance Rohl can take encouragement from.
A huge positive will be seeing Josh Windass and Barry Bannan starting after time out with injuries. Bannan in particular put in a decent performance.
Rohl reverted to a back four compared to the three that was employed against Huddersfield – and it certainly worked better, not conceding a single big chance.
It will be interesting to see if Rohl can get Wednesday firing again going forward, as they get again failed to score despite having ten shots.
Wednesday’s next game is away at Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday evening, with the Owls looking for their first win of the season.