DANIEL FARKE has backed his 49ers Enterprises gaffers over the “very brave” call to appoint Danny Rohl at Rangers.
Leeds boss Farke was an opponent of Rohl during Yorkshire derbies when the 36-year-old German was in charge at Sheffield Wednesday.
He reckons the new Rangers head coach, who has achieved back- to-back league victories this week, has got “unbelievable potential”.
But he has also warned Rohl that taking charge of Gers will be very different from his previous role at Hillsborough.
Farke told SunSport: “At Rangers, the expectation is on a different level. You have to win each and every game due to their history. You have to win titles.
“Even a draw feels like a loss and the world goes down, so for Danny this is something new.
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“It would be too difficult to guarantee success right now — but I will back his potential and his qualities as a human being.
“It’s a very brave and interesting appointment and it will be great if he turns out to be a success.
“But to label it already a success — for such a young manager facing such a difficult task — that would be a bit too early.
“It would be a bit crazy to do this, but my fingers are definitely crossed that he will be successful at Rangers.”
Farke, who turned 49 yesterday, has worked closely with Gers vice-chairman Paraag Marathe at Elland Road.
Together they brought United back into the Premier League after a 100-point season in the Championship last term.
Rohl had a tougher time at crisis-hit Wednesday, but Farke was impressed by his work.
The fellow German added: “Danny has already had some great experiences in his coaching career.
“He’s still very young to take the Rangers job but at Sheffield Wednesday he worked a little miracle to keep them up. That’s credit to his quality as a manager because if you come into such a difficult situation and deliver straight away then it shows that you have unbelievable potential.
“There’s no doubt about this. In his second season he stabilised them a bit more into mid-table.
“Overall I would label his time at Sheffield Wednesday as very successful due to the circumstances he worked under.
“He’s a really intelligent young man and a very good human being, so I hope he will have great success at Rangers.
DANNY ROHL – CAREER SO FAR
Playing career
- Played in German lower leagues for FC Zwickau (2007-08), FC Sachsen Leipzig (2008-09) and FC Eilenburg (2009-10)
- Was a defender in his playing days
- Gave up playing in 2010 to focus on university and coaching, studying sport science at the Leipzig University and doing a masters degree in game analysis at German Sport University Cologne
Coaching career
- Started working at RB Leipzig in 2010 as an analyst for the youth academy
- Promoted to assistant coach with youth academy in 2011
- Became performance and opposition analyst for RB Leipzig’s first team in 2014
- Appointed assistant manager of the first team under Ralph Hassenhuttl in 2017
- Followed Hassenhuttl to Southampton in 2018
- Moved back to Germany to become Bayern Munich assistant coach under Niko Kovac and later Hansi Flick
- Joined German national team coaching set-up under Flick in July 2021
- Appointed Sheffield Wednesday head coach in October 2023
- Saved Wednesday from relegation in his first season and led them to 12th-placed finish in second year
- Left Hillsborough in July 2025 amid financial and ownership struggles
Coaching record
P89, W34, D21, L34
Win percentage: 38.2%
“And I would back him to achieve it.”
Rohl faces the biggest test of his career on Sunday when Gers face holders Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden.
And Farke, who takes Leeds to Brighton in the Premier League tomorrow, says he’ll be backing Rohl to win his maiden Old Firm clash — as he’s part of the family.
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Farke’s Leeds and Rangers are both owned by 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers.
He quipped: “I’m a proper 49er now! You wouldn’t expect me to criticise the appointment of Danny Rohl, not at all. But I rate him highly.”
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