DANNY ROHL took over as Sheffield Wednesday boss in October 2023.
Come October 2025, he is the new head coach at Rangers.
So what can we learn about what the German coach could bring to Ibrox from the time he spent at Hillsborough?
The 36-year-old left the Championship club in the summer amid ongoing ownership and financial turmoil.
It meant he departed having only had one full season in charge of the Owls.
But that campaign still offers plenty of insight into Rohl’s tactics and style of play.
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Formation and adaptability
Rohl headed into the 2024/25 season on the back of saving Wednesday from relegation to League One and immediately set about building on those foundations.
In the previous campaign Rohl used a back three/five in almost half of the games he managed (either as a 5-4-1, 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-3) and also wasn’t afraid to play a rigid 4-4-2, which he deployed in seven matches.
Wednesday won their final three games using a 3-4-1-2 but with the transfer activity in the summer and Rohl wanting to be more attacking in 24/25, he began the next season using a 4-2-3-1 in a 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle.
Wednesday played the same formation for the first four games but after back-to-back defeats to Sunderland and Leeds United, Rohl changed things up for an EFL Cup tie against Grimsby to go 4-4-2 which they won 5-1.
The next run of seven matches until an international break saw Rohl’s side win three, draw two and lose two with the German using a 4-4-2 (1-0 win over Blackpool), a 4-2-3-1 (3-0 loss to Millwall) and go back to the 3-4-3 (1-1 draw against QPR, 1-0 win vs West Brom, 0-0 draw with Bristol City and 2-1 win against Coventry).
For the most part, Rohl continued to switch between a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 and a 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 for the rest of the season, depending on the opposition and ended the season using a 4-3-3 for five matches in succession.
That showed his willingness to adapt his setup on a game-by-game basis, rather than insisting on a single formation.
Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan, who thrived under Rohl, said: “As the season went on, one of his biggest qualities was adaptability.
“He has a way of playing but he’s not stubborn with it.
“He loves being a high pressing team but he isn’t rigid with that if the game isn’t suited to that.
“There were games when we would actually flip between two or three shapes throughout the 90 minutes.
“But we trained on everything so it was no issue for the players. Everyone knew exactly what they were doing, regardless of the system.”
And another Owls hero in Lee Bullen said as much, in an exclusive interview with the Scottish Sun last week.
He said of Rohl: “He wants to get the ball down and move it.
“But for me watching, while he initially had one plan, he seemed able to adapt, which I thought was really good.
“He got to understand the game in the English Championship and adjusted accordingly to ensure they got the results they needed.”
Goals – and lots of them
Wednesday finished 12th in the Championship in Rohl’s lone full season in charge of the club.
That’s smack bang in the middle of the table.
But his team’s goal stats were anything but average.
Despite their mid-table finish, the Owls scored the seventh-most goals of anyone in the division with 60.
Rohl’s side hit the net more than Sunderland (58) who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.
And they scored just nine fewer goals than Burnley (69) who were automatically promoted after finished level on points with title-winners Leeds.
Only Norwich scored more goals (71) than Wednesday but finished below them (13th).
Whether you’re a fan of expected goals (xG) or not, Wednesday ranked sixth in this category with 1.36 xG per 90 minutes.
On the flip-side, Wednesday were in the bottom four for goals conceded with 69.
Plymouth and Cardiff – who were both relegated – conceded more, as did Portsmouth.
Playmakers
Other stats that can provide insight into how Rohl’s team will play are progressive carries and progressive passes – and who he likes to take the lead in these roles.
For progressive carries (dribbles over ten yards), Wednesday ranked 11th with 692 (Leeds and Middlesbrough led the way with over 900).
In terms of carry distance, Wednesday ranked in the lower half of the Championship (14th).
But players will be given more licence in the final third to run at the opposition, with Rohl’s side ninth out of 24 for carries into the final third and eighth for touches in the opponents’ penalty area.
What this reflects is that Rohl prefers the ball to do most of the work with a focus on quick movement and two to three touches in the build-up rather than individual players running at defences.
The man who was by far and away the leader for Wednesday in progressive carries was Djeidi Gassama, who Rohl will be reunited with at Ibrox.
Gassama had 107 progressive carries in the Championship last season, 34 more than Josh Windass and Marvin Johnson who were next in the list.
But while Gers fans can look forward to seeing the French winger being free to dazzle defences with his dribbling ability, it’s interesting to note that Rohl wasn’t afraid to use him in a central role as well as wide on the right, as opposed to the left wing role he’s playing been almost exclusively since arriving at Ibrox.
What’s also interesting is that Windass and Johnson could be used similarly to that of Thelo Aasgaard and James Tavernier.
Rohl could unlock Aasgaard’s potential as a goalscoring attacking midfielder and Tavernier could be suited to Rohl’s use of wide full-backs, or indeed even moved up the pitch to play as an out-and-out wing-back.
With this focus on wide areas, Wednesday ranked fifth of 24 in the Championship for crosses into the box in 2024/25 with 969 (top of the list Coventry had 1,015) – so expect a similar tactic at Rangers.
In terms of progressive passes, Rohl’s team were also ranked 11th which shows he is happy for the play to move sideways before going forward if necessary, and that at times fans will have to be patient.
However, it is worth noting that Wednesday wouldn’t be favourites in even half of their games let alone just about every one, so he would have perhaps been slightly more conservative in this aspect than he would be at Rangers.
The main playmaker for Wednesday was skipper Bannan and the obvious comparison for him at Rangers is Nicolas Raskin.
Bannan was clearly encouraged to dictate the play and take risks with his forward passes, with 324 over the course of the season (117 more than the next player in the list).
Touchline passion
One recurring observation about Rohl from his time in Sheffield is that he is animated and involved on the touchline.
The German boss isn’t the kind to stand with his arms folded for 90 minutes casting a more methodical eye over the action, waiting for breaks in play to relay information.
Instead he prefers to try and drive his team on with his engaging persona, and won’t shy away from shouting instructions across the pitch.
Skipper Bannan said: “He’s such a passionate guy that I’ve got no doubt he’ll go in there and gee that changing room up straight away.
“The gaffer wears his heart on his sleeve.
“He also gets involved in the game from the touchline, which the Rangers supporters will probably like.”
And Bullen felt he paid particular attention to younger players in the team.
He said: “On the sidelines he’s pretty animated. He’s not Jurgen Klopp but he’s always on his feet, encouraging.
“Wednesday had quite a young team and you could see him trying to help them.”
Fitness first
Rohl’s personal intensity was distilled into his team both in training sessions and in games.
And it meant the Owls were one of the fittest teams in the league during his reign.
So Rangers supporters can perhaps look forward to their side returning the the vaunted fitness levels from 2021-2022, when they won the league by going unbeaten and the following season juggled marching to the Europa League final via multiple extra-time marathons with maintaining pace domestically – culminating in an energy-sapping Scottish Cup win over Hearts that required 120 minutes of toil.
Former Wednesday and Rangers star Windass remarked that Rohl would implement one “mad” training session a week that was focused on improving fitness – with NO rests.
He told The Sheffield Star in January 2024: “The intensity of our game is so high now.
“We’ve not been out-run once in any game since he’s been here because he wants us to press and press.
“It’s not just running, pressing, it’s so diligent and specific.
“We have one training session a week that is mad, really hard.
“The rest of it tends to be detail, but even when we’re doing that stuff, everything has to be done to maximum intensity.
“It can be difficult, it is tough but once you get doing it consistently over a long period of time your body gets used to it and you see the benefits.”
And if you’re not putting in the required effort?
Windass said: “He’s on you all the time and he’s big on data, so when you’re not doing what he’s asking he can see it there on paper.
“That’s where you might get pulled up and they’ll have a go at you. He’s very firm on what he wants.”
No rest until it’s right
Rohl was so determined to make sure he and his team were properly prepared for every match that he even sometimes went without SLEEP to make sure he got things right.
In an interview with The Times after leaving Hillsborough – and the issues caused by problematic owner Dejphon Chansiri – Rohl revealed: “Some people said, ‘If you survived Wednesday then you learnt a lot.’
“We played at Plymouth on Saturday and Norwich on Tuesday and I worked on Monday the whole night.
“I didn’t sleep, to prepare for Norwich.
“What changed in the second half of the season was not me but the mood of the club.”
Transfer talk
One area that is difficult to get a gauge on is Rohl’s signings.
Considering Wednesday’s financial difficulties and their troublesome owner, all we can glean from their transfer activity is that Rohl will work with what he is given – even if it’s players on the cheap.
He had to work with loanees and free agents coming in at Hillsborough but at Rangers there will be a bit more wiggle room for him to buy players.
Of course, the existing recruitment department at Rangers will play a large role in shaping the club’s transfer business and the big question will be how joined-up the thinking between the head coach and the scouting team is.
He has five weeks to assess the current squad as it is before the January transfer window opens, which could see some players moved out and the new head coach bringing others in.
Insider help
Rohl did his homework on the Sheffield Wednesday squad before arriving so he already knew a lot about the players by the time he stepped into the dugout for the first time.
He will no doubt have already carried out similar research on this group of Rangers players.
But one clever move he made whilst at Hillsborough was to hire someone in with some insider knowledge on the league and the club.
While Rohl brought some of his own people with him, he made a shrewd decision to bring in Championship veteran Chris Powell as one of his assistants.
Indeed it looks like he will do similar at Ibrox, with reports suggesting Rohl sounded out Windass for some ideas.
Names such as Steven Davis and Lee Wallace have been mentioned.
Both are currently in coaching roles at the moment with Wallace employed at Hearts and Davis working with the Northern Ireland national team but would be popular appointments with the Ibrox faithful.
Bringing the fans onside
Which brings us to the next and arguably most crucial point.
Rohl would ingratiate himself to the Rangers fans by appointing someone like Davis or Wallace to a prominent role under his watch.
But he’ll need to do a lot more than that to win over a sceptical fan base that has been growing increasingly angry and fed up with the way the club is being run.
Sporting director Kevin Thelwell and chief executive Patrick Stewart have been the prime targets for fans in recent weeks, more so since the departure of Russell Martin.
Even the club’s new American owners have been getting it tight.
Rohl was favoured by the supporters far less than Steven Gerrard or Kevin Muscat during the hunt for a new boss.
But they’ll now have to throw their weight behind him despite any doubts they may have.
Sheffield Wednesday fans didn’t know much about Rohl when he arrived in Yorkshire but Bullen noted that he immediately endeared himself to the supporters by buying into not just the club, but the culture and the city.
He said: “Quite quickly, he bought into the culture of the Sheffield people and what they wanted to see from the football club.
“Obviously results dictate a lot of that and he was able to pick up two or three positive results quite quickly after coming in the door.
“So while it was the results that brought him a lot of good faith from the supporter base, he moved to the city, he lived in Sheffield, brought his family over.”
Bannan added that Rohl’s passion will rub off on Gers fans.
He said: “One of the things he wants is fans who are passionate because that’s what he’s like.
“Our fans took to him straight away and really loved him and I think it would be the same at Rangers.”
The man himself has already hinted at these aspects.
He spoke of needing to appreciate the club’s traditions and history, as well as the culture of winning at all csots.
In an interview with Rangers TV, he said: “If you commit to this club then you have to know what it means.
“It’s about respect to this club. You have traditional things and you have to respect those traditional things.
“I’m very happy to be here.
“I’m very excited, and I must say this, to be here in such a historic place, such a traditional club, a huge club.
“I think we know what we need to do.”
Rohl also said that the insanely high demands of Rangers actually played a part in him wanting the job in the first place.
He continued: “I know it’s a demanding club and that’s the reason why I’m here.
“I like that our fans are very demanding.
“We have nearly 50,000 every match day.
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%
“I think this is fantastic to see in the stadium. The fans come here to see wins and they want to see entertainment from our side.
“I think it’s crucial for me.
“I have taken a lot from the last few years at the highest level.
“I’ve said this many times, I want to be at an ambitious club. And I think this is exactly the challenge I want to have.
“This is an ambitious club. We want to win things and not just in two or three years – but as soon as possible.”
Asked what the supporters can expect, he added: “Wins. This is the most important key.
“We don’t have so much time, but I will not use this as an excuse.
“We know where we are and we know in which direction we want to go.
“We want to play attacking football and that means we have to press very high and press with intensity.
“We have to be connected in all parts of the game.
“We need good transition moments in both directions and that means every player on the pitch has to hunt the ball.
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“Finally we want to create a lot of chances for goals.
“This is why people go into the stadiums. They don’t want to see draws or small wins, they want to see exciting wins.”
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