Watford boss knows Danny Röhl - admits difficulties in Sheffield Wednesday preparation

Their last trip to Watford ended in a 1-0 defeat in which Xisco Munoz was in charge of the Hornets. The Spaniard has since come and gone from the Wednesday dugout with Röhl having been appointed as his successor last week.

Now all Owls eyes are looking forward, starting with a fresh start with the 34-year-old, who despite a stellar CV was a relative unknown to many until his Wednesday appointment. But not to Watford boss Valerian Ismael.

The Frenchman, a former Barnsley boss, is a former player at Bayern Munich, where Röhl spent two years as assistant manager to Hansi Flick. Ismael spent six years playing in Germany - he also stepped out in the colours of Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 - and so it may be no surprise, then, that he is well aware of the German’s fledgling career.

“I know Danny Röhl’s name and his career so far,” Ismael said. “I think it’s clear to see that Sheffield Wednesday want to create an identity and a way to play and this is what we will face. For us, we take the games one by one and it’s a home game. We will play in front of our fans and we want to put in a performance from minute one with the intensity we need.”

Though his technical principles have been explained, a lack of data on Röhl the manager hs left Wednesday supporters looking forward to an unknown approach to a possible system and team selection. This too has left Ismael scratching his head a touch in preparation for this afternoon’s match-up, he admitted.

He said: “It’s always difficult to prepare [against a new manager], but we have some information and we are prepared. We have an idea because it’s our job to be prepared. The most important thing though is our own performance and our own decisions. We have a big desire to get it right and do everything through the 90 minutes to bring our fans some happiness.”