The little superstition Danny Röhl tapped into as he urges Sheffield Wednesday to 'earn something'

The Owls' on-field struggles are well-known, set at the bottom of the Championship and nine points adrift of the safety spots. They are embarking on a new project with talented young coach Danny Röhl, who has overseen an upturn in performances - if not yet results.

When things are against you, football has a funny way of kicking you when you are down and some of the results under Röhl could have been quite different were it not for some curious refereeing decisions.

A penalty awarded to Wednesday at Watford was rescinded before Barry Bannan's match-turning first half red card at Bristol City was later admitted to have been incorrect. Last week the Owls held talks with the PGMOL over certain calls and to get a better handle of the rules and how they are being implemented by officials.

In a lighter moment of a recent press conference, Röhl told The Star of a little superstition he has tapped into in a clamour to turn his side's luck his way - but impressed the Owls themselves are the only ones who can do so as they look to earn much-needed points in the hunt for survival.

Asked of any German customs he might engage in to bring about a change in fortunes, he told The Star: "After the first defeat I changed my shoes! I started with white shoes, now I have black shoes. These are the little things I try to get points!

"Look, it's all about our performance on the pitch and doing things right. It's also to earn something. We have played well and people might say 'Oh, the direction is good', but we need to earn something. We have to score, we have to protect our goal and this is important. We have to earn things."

Wednesday are in the first week of their two-week international break, with Röhl regarding the opportunity as a 'mini pre-season' and warning players that while there will be a monitoring of workload given a sharp rise in intensity since his arrival at the club, it will not be a case of resting up.