Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder's Danny Rohl verdict after "dead and buried" Sheffield Wednesday comeback

When the bell goes before Sunday’s Steel City derby and the players of Sheffield United and Wednesday stride out onto the Bramall Lane turf, there will be no love lost between the respective managers. But away from game-day there is a huge amount of mutual respect between Chris Wilder and Danny Rohl, despite their different experiences and journeys that led them to Sunday’s big clash.

Rohl of course has a background at European level working at the likes of RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, as well as working with the Germany national team, while Wilder did the hard yards at the likes of Halifax Town and Northampton Town before dragging United up the footballing pyramid during his first spell in charge.

Rohl’s presence in the away dugout adds an extra dimension to the first derby since 2019, having masterminded an impressive survival effort during his first season in charge at Hillsborough, and the German revealed earlier today that he and Wilder had shared a chat at an Ecclesall Road restaurant of late.

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“I bump into quite a few people in Nonna’s!” Wilder laughed when asked about the meeting. “Especially when I’ve had a couple. But yeah, he’s a good guy. I’ve got to say, he did an outstanding job. I think everyone thought that Sheffield Wednesday were dead and buried when he came in and he put life into them, and the run they went on was fantastic. That’s my football head talking on that. But I’ve got a huge amount of respect for what him and Henrik [Pedersen, assistant manager] have done there.

“He’s highly regarded and I should imagine a highly sought-after manager now, after they comfortably stayed in the division. He deserves an enormous amount of credit for what he’s done there. So I bumped into him and he’ll be invited in for a drink on Sunday, win lose or draw.

“I like him, I like his approach and his attitude and he’s a good guy. But he’s on the opposite side on Sunday and I think we all understand what’s at stake. It’s not a big friendship, I’m not saying I go out for a beer or a coffee with him every other week. But I like him and I’ve got a lot of admiration and respect for the work he’s done so far.”