Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl on a 'tough' January transfer window week - but why he is not getting down

January is a time when managers and head coaches – especially those whose sides happen to be in the thick of relegation fights – have plenty on their minds and it can be quite stressful.

Preparing teams for the important business of points-gathering and the games themselves are only part of it.

Away from Sheffield Wednesday’s training ground and Hillsborough pitch, the German, 34, has been anxious for progress elsewhere.

Rohl wants several incoming transfers to be completed at the earliest juncture to give prospective signings the longest possible time to be integrated into his methods and assimilated into his squad.

In the case of Rohl’s club – who made a start by bringing in loanees James Beadle and Ike Ugbo last week – freeing up space in their squad and budget by way of some departures remains an added consideration in a notoriously tricky window.

John Buckley’s loan deal has been terminated and he has returned to parent club Blackburn, while Tyreeq Bakinson has linked up with Charlton.

On Thursday, Devis Vasquez’s season-long loan was cut short and he is now back at AC Milan.

A potential loan return to Newcastle for Jeff Hendrick would also free up funds and another squad spot. As it stands, that remains unresolved.

Meanwhile, a curveball has seen Ipswich rekindle their interest in Marvin Johnson, a player who has been influential in the ‘Rohl Revolution’.

The likes of Lee Gregory, George Byers and Michael Smith have interest in the EFL, while on the incoming front, Wednesday are in for several targets, including Brentford midfielder Myles Peart-Harris and Arsenal forward Mika Biereth, who has been recalled from an impressive loan spell at Motherwell.

Rohl, whose side were beaten 4-0 at Southampton last weekend, said: “This week has been a tough week with a lot of challenges beside the pitch, especially.

“One hundred per cent, you need to improve your team. But you also need 100 per cent to prepare something (transfers) and then it’s up and down.

“But it’s important for me that things, which are sometimes not good, are not taken personally. Then it’s about: ‘ok, go again and try again for the next (day).

“It’s like a defeat and when you get a defeat on the pitch. It’s the same, you have to look forward, learn from this and do it better and then the next success will come.

“It’s been a tough two weeks now and I notice and feel it as well as a manager in what it means.

“But hopefully after the January window, we can make a good result and then we can say ‘okay, with the work in the last four weeks, we are happy and convinced’.”

Another facet to contend with this month is the subject of contracted Owls players whose deals expire in June. Of which, there are several.

Barry Bannan, Josh Windass, Dominic Iorfa, Cameron Dawson, Will Vaulks, Liam Palmer, Byers and Gregory are among those whose contracts end.

They are now able to sign a pre-contract agreement with any team outside of England, should they wish.

Windass has interest from clubs in the US and South America, with MLS side Real Salt Lake and Argentine outfit Club Atlético Talleres both keen.

Palmer also has admirers in the US, while Iorfa has previously been linked with moves to clubs in Argentina and Croatia.

Speaking on Thursday, Windass said the club have not yet spoken to him regarding a new deal, with the 30-year-old revealing that he has had offers from elsewhere. He remains ‘relaxed’ about his situation.

Windass said: “It’s nothing about location, it’s always about football.

“If I ever thought about signing a pre-contract or doing anything like that, Danny (Rohl) would be the first person I’d go to. Obviously, that is not the case. That’s all I can say on it.”

After the window closes, then the subject of renewals and the futures of those off-contract players will be increasingly on the agenda as winter turns to spring.

On the prospect of interest in players coming off contract, Rohl commented: “I think it is important that I get the feeling how serious the offers are and what I think about (from them) with their futures.

“Sometimes, it’s about getting an offer, but you want to stay at the club because you think it is the right club and situation. This is what I want to know from my players and then I give them feedback from my situation at the moment.

“And then both sides know what the situation is in the club and then you go forward. But if players improve, it is normal they will get offers as they are doing well.”