Cocktails and late nights: Danny Röhl out to inspire a shot in Sheffield Wednesday's survival scrap

He was speaking ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s trip to QPR this weekend and describing the need for balance between graft and glitter in his side, the recapturing of a joie de vivre missing in recent weeks that have seen them hopped-over by League One-bound Rotherham United to become the lowest scorers in the division.

The stuttering survival scrap starts again on Saturday with a great deal of water under the bridge since the final whistle blew on a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough that left plenty to be desired.

“I want to see a team that is active, not passive, not waiting,” Röhl said. “We have to be active and I think this is our strength. We do not think about how we can lose, no. We must win and bring everything we have. They can run. It's a good thing, but you need creativity.”

Like that of Barry Bannan, his was an engaging pre-match press conference though different in delivery. The cocktail reference is an interesting one; where Bannan spoke in thick Scottish drawl with the strong, defiant punch of a whiskey sour, his manager was a little more playful in tone, encouraging his players to dig deep and take the step drunkenly tripped over in recent weeks.

He stopped short of punching his fist into the table, but a few days on from a riotous rally against a perceived lack of effort in moments on Teesside, offered themes amounting to a message of ‘Snap out of it’. The time for Wednesday to grab hold of the prize they have worked so hard to catch sight of in recent months, he said, is now. The safety spots remain in reach, after all.

So what of the week? Have Wednesday operated in similar style to that forged in response to a 4-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town that inspired a season-saving run of five wins in six?

“It was a little bit different because after that Huddersfield game we dropped back to eight points,” the German boss told The Star. “In this situation you could have teams that drop back, back, back and then they are done. So the message was different. It is more about what we have to do better and why we must do it better.

“When you invest so much effort and time in the last six months to get so close, then do it. Make the step. Make it. If it hurts? No problem, you must make the step and invest for your club, for your teammates, for your fans. Do it. We must do it.”

Moments in the Boro performance prompted the Wednesday boss to ask pointed questions of the desire of some of his players in a media engagement at-odds with the protective modus operandi he has shown over six months in South Yorkshire.

In a season that has seen the squad asked to make a marked mid-season jump-up in intensity, in which their pre-season was slow and disjointed and low on volume, such a sharp and public examination of effort naturally prompts questions of whether this Wednesday squad is simply showing early signs of burn-out - both physical and mental.

Ever-honest, Röhl acknowledged tiredness to be a potential factor. But in what became the theme of his buoyant 40-minute conversation with the media, he broke into motivational speaker-mode to hold it up as a factor to be kicked aside.

“I will not say it's wrong what you ask,” he said. “We always play on the limit and at times over the limit, which we did in the last weeks in the run of wins. We were at the limit, at the limit, at the limit. Even at the top of the table you have some teams that are up and down.

“It could be the point, but no. We go over that point, you do not think that 'Oh we have had a long season'. No. You just do it. You just run, you just fight. Invest again and again. We can go on holiday in five weeks, before that we must achieve our goals. Do it. This is our job and why I am here. I will fight for our goals. It's about now going ahead to find a solution and we try again.”

The quest to find those solutions has been a task that has weighed a little heavier on Röhl this week, he admitted. Those Wednesday fans caught up in the tosses and turns of relegation battle worry have been joined in their late-night pondering by the man entrusted to ensure the resurgence of midwinter has not been carried out only for the slap of Spring disappointment. He warned there might be a surprise or two in this weekend’s cocktail.

“This week of course is a week where I think a lot,” Röhl smiled. “They are short nights - I watched games, looking for solutions and what we can do. It's easy when we win games, everybody celebrates and everyone is good. The last weeks are not so easy.

“It's about preparing, making the best plans, choosing the right players. It means not so much sleep in the night, a lot of thinking, waking early in the morning, very late into bed. This is OK. It is my job. When we take points again, hopefully Saturday, then you sit on the coach and you see it was good to invest so much again. That's the feeling we are working for.”

Danny Röhl isn’t strictly tee-total, but he’s more a cup of tea man outside of special occasions. Should a win in the capital spark survival in May, you’d expect that to be put down as a night for something stronger.

We’ll soon see if Sheffield Wednesday were shaken or stirred by the nature of defeat at Middlesbrough. Bottoms up.