Sheffield Wednesday v Cardiff City: Danny Rohl relishing hectic English footballing Christmas

This year, in English football, he’s preparing for four games in 10 days.

Once bitten by the hectic festive football schedule in this country, though, Sheffield Wednesday’s German head coach expects to be smitten.

For years he has known nothing but a break at Christmas.

“In the past when I worked in Germany it would be the last game, and then some days with my family and then I flew off on holiday in the sun,” says Rohl, who was on the coaching staff of the German national team last year when they got an earlier-than-planned break after a short stay at the World Cup.

Prior to that he was on the coaching staffs of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, clubs who were allowed to recharge their batteries during a winter break. English football is the opposite, with the intensity ratcheted up over the festive season.

Rohl does have one experience to fall back on, the Christmas of 2018/19 when he was assisting Ralph Hassenhuttl at Southampton.

“At Southampton it was tough – we played West Ham, Man City and then Chelsea – not easy games,” he recalls. “I remember New Year’s Eve, I said Happy New Year and then 10 minutes later I was preparing for Chelsea because there was no other time to do it.

“That’s going to be the same over the next two weeks for me and my staff, we have to prepare, we have to work. I’ll try and have some minutes off, but as a manager you’re always thinking to the next game.

“Five years ago when I was in Southampton, I was in a hotel on Christmas Day with my wife and my little son, now I have an apartment, my family is here and my parents are here as well; this is much, much better.

“This is a special time in the UK, Boxing Day is a tradition, and as a supporter for me it’s the best time; family time, good food and in the evening you have football.”

Despite having just one experience of working over Christmas, there are other times in his career Rohl can fall back on when he thinks about how he will prepare his players for a game every three days: Cardiff at home on Saturday, Coventry away on Boxing Day, Preston away on Friday night and then a Yorkshire derby with Hull at Hillsborough on Monday week.

“Maybe this is a good experience for me,” offers Rohl, “but when I look back into my past at Munich there were weeks and months where you are playing every three days, you have to handle this.

“As a manager you have to stay positive, keep the message about focusing on the game and then staying in the game. It’s very helpful to have these past experiences.

“I’m looking forward to this moment. We have to find a balance to be ready for the next games, always to have fresh legs, you can’t train so much. The next 10 days is a challenge, but the players know how to handle it, it’s not new to them, and we as a staff will support them where we can.”

It is no surprise Rohl is relishing the challenge. From the moment he came into Sheffield Wednesday in mid-October, with the winless Owls almost cast adrift at the foot of the Championship, he has exuded positivity. Even after winning just one of his first seven games in charge, he never lost faith in the high-intensity approach he was instilling.

At its worst, Wednesday were 12 points adrift. Now, after scoring last-minute goals in four of their last five games and taking 10 points, the tide has turned and the Owls are a more achievable six points from safety.

It has given the club and the fanbase a glimmer of hope, and while Rohl is not celebrating anything yet despite enjoying getting out into the community to meet supporters on a rare midweek off, his positivity now has substance.

“I’m a big believer in the power of positivity, I said it in my first press conference,” he says. “Besides tactical things, you have to have your mentality right, to be positive.

“Everybody has this feeling, the hope is back. Fans are proud of the club and what we’re trying to do, that’s very helpful and just what we need.

“When I arrived I wanted to bring this energy, sometimes it works quickly, sometimes it doesn’t because of the results – but at the moment it’s good.”

Now to continue it against Cardiff.

“For sure we want to play football and attack, but we have to be patient and stay in the game,” says Rohl.

“That’s what’s happened the last few games, we’ve stayed in the game and the moments have come.”