Watching Sheffield Wednesday’s play-off miracle taught Danny Röhl about his new players

Pep Guardiola spoke glowingly on their 5-1 penalty shootout comeback win over Peterborough United, while images were shown all over the world on social media as a four-goal first leg deficit was overcome.

What caught the attention of Guardiola was an intensity of spirit not only in performance but on the terraces. The semi-final was of course followed-up by a last-gasp Wembley final win at which 44,000 Wednesday fans were present.

Then assistant manager of Germany, Danny Röhl was another foraway football figure enraptured by what has since been dubbed as ‘the Hillsborough Miracle’. And speaking after his unveiling as Wednesday manager, he says it has already taight him plenty of what he needs to know about the character of the core of his squad as he looks to spark a rise up the Championship table.

He said: “The important thing for me was seeing the promotion season when they came back after losing 4-0. It shows me there’s so much mentality and personality in this group. This is a good base.

“I have followed the Championship for nearly one year now and then for the club to get there was fantastic. Four-zero and then they turned it around and then I saw the pictures at Wembley and all the fans. It was massive.

“I am very convinced about the team. I saw the mentality in the promotion, to turnaround the defeat.”

The 34-year-old Owls boss is stepping into his first managerial role but has held some of the biggest assistant coach roles in Europe, including those of RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and the German national team.

It is on all his previous experiences that he has drawn experience from, he said, though he has likened the nuts and bolts of his new task to the one he faced walking in at Southampton, where spirits were down and relgation looking likely.

With Ralph Hassenhuttl he went on to achieve success and take them up the Premier League. A return to England is something Röhl has felt has been on the cards ever since.

“This is a dream come true,” he continued. “When I was here at Southampton, I said I would come back (to England). I am looking forward to it at a great club.

“In my football, I want to play forward. I am a guy who is thinking forward, I want us to be aggressive with high intensity in our play. We put our foot forward. This is what I want and it is what I demand from my guys, my players here.”