Sheffield Wednesday boss makes surprise admission after squad list decision

The Owls have to register their squad list with the English Football League after the closure of a transfer window, with the club being able to name up to 25 players who will be featuring for them going forward – U21s, unless on loan, don’t count as part of that number.

Wednesday have 26 players either over the age of 21 on their books, with James Beadle making it 27 due to his loan status, meaning that at least two would have had to miss out anyway.

Röhl has now explained, though, that they have left numerous players out at this point in time, opting to leave space for their pursuit of free agents that could help their survival scrap.

“We have left some spaces open,” he told The Star. “But that means that some players are not on the list - this is not a final decision, because when I select my squad I can always bring in those players not on the list. We’ll look at that matchday to matchday - we still have positions open.

"We’re looking around for what we can do, maybe, but also if you didn’t sign somebody in the January window, having the chance to sign somebody after the window closes of the profile that we need is not easy.

"But we have to try, we have to look, but if not then this is our group, and I’m convinced about my players. They have heart, but we know we need 100% - starting with Friday.”

Röhl didn’t say which players he had decided to leave out at this stage, however that will be confirmed when the EFL publish the list, something that is expected in the next few days.

The Owls boss could left out players like Lee Gregory and Ciaran Brennan, who are out of favour, as well as injured players such as Juan Delgado and Callum Paterson, however he is able to add their names to the list for as long as there are still spaces available in the 25.

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