Danny Rohl on why Sheffield Wednesday improvement can have positive spin-offs in January - and not just in relegation fight

Should the Owls’ incremental improvement continue for the rest of December, then Danny Rohl is conscious of it resonating elsewhere - at not just among anxious rival clubs battling against the drop.

Wednesday, off the bottom of the table on goal difference above Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United, are seeking to do some key business in the January transfer window to further galvanise their fight.

A tidy haul of points, including in this afternoon’s survival ‘six-pointer’ against fellow strugglers QPR, ahead of the new year would have a positive spin-off in terms of making a move to the club that bit more attractive to potential new signings, in Rohl’s view.

Questioned on whether a continuation of the Owls’ recent form would aid in his quest for new recruits, the German said: "At first if we do well, we have more points and are in a better position. But it’s helpful (for signings), for sure.

"If you speak with (prospective) players, it’s helpful to have more points when you are in a good position.

"But I think it’s more helpful when you explain how you want to play and it’s also important for the players to see that the style of football is for them.

"Then, it’s easy to convince them. I can show them the improvement of my team and the improvement from some players at the moment. I think this is important."

It is to Rohl’s credit that he and his coaching team have provided belief, conviction and clarity to both players and watching supporters in a relatively short space of time.

Under him, Wednesday have provided a kernel of hope in their bid to avoid an instant return to League One by winning twice in their last four matches and losing just once. Yet the heavy lifting remains.

Some 25 league matches are still to go in 2023-24. Twenty-five 'hills' to climb. Should the Owls still be a Championship club by late afternoon on May 4, it would constitute something special.

Rohl may have sampled grand stages with the likes of Bayern Munich and Germany - and possess successful experience of winning a relegation scrap as assistant to Ralph Hasenhuttl in 2018-19 - but saving Wednesday from the drop would top everything.

The 34-year-old, whose side have back-to-back games at Hillsborough, commented: “As a manager, for sure because it’s my first station (number one role). But it is (in football), sure.

"We know the situation and challenge. This is a good thing as I see a club, team and supporters - everybody - understand what we have to do.

"At the moment, we are doing it well. When you look back before the Leicester game, the situation was really tough here. If we’d lost against Leicester, it could have been that we were 15 points behind the line.

"If you look forward and we are successful (against QPR), maybe it is just five points. This is the process at the moment and we have to make it closer and closer.

"We know that the jump won’t be in four games and we’ll be immediately out. But the process is the right one and we are in a good way, even if we have to do more and more things right.

"We have to always play at 100 per cent on the limit. If we don’t do that, it’s hard. Even sometimes, we have played very well in the past and it was not enough.

"But I see a team who are convinced and believe. This is so important and I see a team who are always trying everything they can do."

Elsewhere at the bottom today, basement club Rotherham United head to Plymouth Argyle in Leam Richardson’s first away match at the helm.

The Millers have not won on their travels in over 13 months.

Fourth-from-bottom Huddersfield Town – one point above the side currently occupying the last relegation spot in QPR – visit fellow strugglers Millwall in another key fixture today.