Danny Rohl responds to fan criticism of Sheffield Wednesday player | OneFootball

Danny Rohl has responded to growing criticism towards Ike Ugbo, who is yet to get going for Sheffield Wednesday this season

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl has responded to growing fan criticism towards Ike Ugbo, who has endured a difficult time infront of goal after signing on a permanent basis in the summer.

The Canada international played an instrumental role in ensuring the Owls' dramatic survival in the Championship last season, scoring seven goals from 18 league appearances.

No Wednesday player outscored Ugbo across the 2023/24 Championship campaign, even though the striker only arrived in January on loan from Troyes after struggling with Cardiff City for the first-half of the season.

Returning Ugbo permanently, then, was always going to be a significant call of duty for Wednesday, and Rohl pushed hard for the signing. He eventually got his reward by landing the 26-year-old frontman in a reported £2.5 million deal in August, but his marquee signing is yet to hit the ground running.

Ugbo is yet to provide a goal or an assist in eight Championship outings for Wednesday, although he did score one and set up another during his side's 5-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town in the second round of the EFL Cup.

However, he has struggled to get going in league action and Wednesdayites have grown critical as of late, questioning whether he is capable of living up to the price tag.

Danny Rohl responds to Ike Ugbo criticism at Sheffield Wednesday

Rohl has issued a message of response to Ugbo's critics, lauding the forward for his all-round impact despite failing to find the back of the net and urging the side to create more goalscoring opportunities.

"His job and his work against the ball in the last games was outstanding," Röhl explained to The Star.

"I think this is sometimes what we don't recognise, we look to the strikers and see 'Oh no shots or no goals'. But he worked very, very hard for the team, he had a lot of good moments, a lot of sprints against the ball and this is an important part. He was a part of the four points from the two games, a big part.

"Of course, we want to create more chances and this is what we want to improve in front, but it's not just Ike, it's our winger positions, our 10 position.

"We have too many breaks in our games, the smart touches are at the moment not right but it will come 100 per cent. For the moment we have eight players for three positions.

"This is a challenge and you have to bring some players back. When you see how we improved as a team you will see more and more chances will come and more and more chances go to the strikers and the wingers.

"Of course, Ike needs the support around him."

Ike Ugbo needs to hit form at Sheffield Wednesday

Upon Ugbo's arrival, the popular German boss did warn supporters that it would take a number of weeks for the striker to get up to full speed after joining towards the back-end of the window.

However, patience could begin to wear thin if his goalscoring drought continues. There is natural pressure for Ugbo to be perhaps even more prolific this time around given Wednesday's outlay, of course.

Even if he is contributing more than he gets credit for to their all-round attacking dynamic, they will simply require him to add goals to his account sooner rather than later, with options waiting patiently behind him.

Summer signing Jamal Lowe, who boasts fair pedigree at Championship level through previous spells with Bournemouth and Swansea City, has a goal and an assist on his stat-line so far this season and set up Djeidi Gassama's equaliser in the eventual 2-1 win away at Coventry City before the international break.

The versatile forward could be in line to replace Ugbo if his current fortunes fail to pick up, though Wednesday will doubtless be desperate to see a return on their investment and may not be replacing him with haste quite just yet.