Why unfamiliar faces have been spotted at Sheffield Wednesday training sessions

Some of the Owls' youth coaching staff, even some who coach players of a young age, have been invited to senior training at Middlewood Road on a watching brief to gather information on who Röhl and his staff go about things, with a view to developing a future playing philosophy that runs from the club's youngest sides right up to the first team.

The club's under-21 boss Andy Holdsworth has recently spoken about the German coach's impact on the playing style of his squad, with a clear focus on developing players towards the intense, front-foot playing style that continues to be implemented at senior level.

The benefits of strengthening the relationships with the Owls academy, Röhl said, will be seen in years to come.

Röhl told The Star: "This is for the future, I want to have a link with the academy and to invite the coaches to some training sessions to speak about the philosophy. It can be very helpful that we have the academy at the first step in the same direction. This season it was not always possible to do this, but for me it is a big, big topic for the future.

"Maybe every month or two months we have a big meeting with them, we train together, we have the conversations. Everybody understands more and more what I want from the first team and it means we have a better transfer from the academy to the first team."