New Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl savours derby win in first home game

Posted Monday, October 30, 2023 by PA

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl was delighted to mark his first home game since taking charge with a 2-0 win against Rotherham.

Michael Smith scored both goals against his former club in the first half to give Wednesday their first win of the season with Rotherham never threatening to mount a comeback.

Rohl said: “It’s amazing to be a part of this club. It’s amazing to be in the stadium, to see all the fans that are so great.

“The performance on the pitch was just what we need. We trained hard for the last 10 days and now you see the direction of how we want to play.

“A clean sheet, two goals and a great performance of high intensity against a difficult opponent.

“Everybody was ready on the pitch, but also a good signal for me was to see how ready the guys are off the pitch. We have a big squad and we need all the players.

“We spoke about our plan today. It’s about creating a winning mindset and enjoying playing football.

“We spoke about how we want to play and you always need to first win to create the belief and conviction for the direction.

“I see a team that is ready for a hunt to win balls and it is fantastic.”

Rotherham boss Matt Taylor made no attempt to hide his displeasure after a lack lustre display from his side.

He said: “Bitterly disappointed, frustrated, upset and angry in so many ways that we were so poor in so many departments today.

“In possession and out of possession, we were second best in both departments.

“In local derbies, you certainly can’t afford to do that. For 10 minutes, the game was relatively balanced and then one midfield giveaway and a breakaway goal, and the whole atmosphere changed.

“We just weren’t bright enough in our moments of the game. Get to the ball first, come out on top. If you win the ball, use the ball better. We were too poor in too many departments.

“I just didn’t see enough individually in terms of what it meant as a game today.

“Sometimes you’ve got to put your body on the line a little bit more than we did today. Sprint a little bit more and just be close enough to the action to say ‘I’m having a positive effect on the game’.

“We’re just bitterly disappointed in terms of the way we performed and then the outcome is what you expect if you don’t play well enough. This is an unforgiving league.”