Danny Rohl on how Sheffield Wednesday fans are keeping him going through another miserable episode of the Hillsborough soap opera

Life at Hillsborough is rarely dull but whereas 32 years to the day before Rohl spoke to the media on Thursday Chris Waddle was scoring one of the great Wembley goals in a Steel City FA Cup semi-final win, in 2025 the games are less glamorous, the soap opera more depressing.

With titles and cups in the pre- and inter-war years, Wednesday's greatness lies in their past, but at least thanks to Waddle and co following the 1991 League Cup, some is modern, not ancient, history.

If not the new norm, owner Dejphon Chansiri not paying staff – playing and non-playing – is certainly a familiar storyline, the “cashflow problems” excuse well worn.

It is, though, Rohl’s first bitter taste of it.

His job, he says, is to remain positive, and he even spoke about accelerating his education in his first full season as a manager.

He must ensure his players are in the right frame of mind for Saturday’s game with Hull City where the Owls need a first Hillsborough win since New Year’s Day to keep fading Championship play-off hopes alive.

But he must be tiring of regular wrestles over transfer budgets and hints about facilities not befitting a club of Wednesday's stature.

Rohl would probably not still be here were it not for his affection for the club's supporters, and just as Chansiri underlined his low standing this week, so the fans further cemented their high one with him.

"We've (dealt) really well with setbacks on the pitch and in the last couple of months we've done it as well when there were some problems (off it)," says Rohl, reflecting on an 18-month crash course in crisis management. "We always find a solution as a club and carry on.

"This is what I felt on Monday.

"We had the day off and I went on a run around the park and the city. When people saw me and said hello they gave me positive energy and positive feedback, this is outstanding. I saw kids waiting and looking at me and calling my name.

"These are really lovely things I've got here at this club and this is what I will never forget in the future."

Rohl spoke of regular conversations with "the club", not its boss, about the drama. Communications between the pair broke down in January too when Rohl wanted signings to go to the next level but Chansiri seemed happy hanging around outside the play-off places.

Despite those talks, Rohl could not shed any light on when the situation would be resolved, only expressing confidence it will be soon. The longer it take, the more likely a Football League transfer embargo.

You wonder if the damage has already been done.

Players who can improve them this summer – players not born when Waddle weaved his magic – will almost certainly have options at other, ambitious, Championship clubs who will pay them on time, where fans' sole focus is supporting the team, not removing the regime.

Pierce Charles, their 19-year-old goalkeeper-cum-playmaker who could make his first Championship start in S6 against Hull, might pause for thought if a big bid comes in for him this summer. Ditto others.

And most of all, no one will be shocked if Rohl has had enough, too good to be wasting time on a club which talks big but too often behaves in a Mickey Mouse way.

"It's not helpful," says Rohl, who did not confirm who will keep goal on Saturday, but said Charles' brother Shea will be back in midfield.

"It's helpful when we have good results and good (league) positions, when we have a clear identity of how we want to play football, when we find the right player.

"The other things we have to sort.

"It's close to the summer and to make the next steps we should not have all these problems but it's my job to answer these questions.

"I do this for the club and the supporters (no prizes for spotting who he does not mention)."

He will be better for this.

"When I look back at my time in Sheffield, I got a lot of different experiences," is his diplomatic take. "For a young manager (he was three when Waddle wowed Wembley) I wouldn't say it's a good experience but I take experience from it.

"It's always about trying to be positive, to find solutions. Don't blame too much and think too negatively.

"I feel for the players, they've invested, especially since I've been here, always trying to get results and develop and they never complain."

With a 35-year-old manager so good he has this squad five points outside the play-offs, and a 19-year-old goalkeeper the envy of many higher up, the future ought to be dazzlingly bright.

Until the Owls get new ownership, it certainly does not feel that way.