Barry Bannan makes Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday claim amid Rangers links | OneFootball

The Wednesday captain has issued strong praise for his former Hillsborough boss

Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has heaped praise on former Owls boss Danny Rohl for his Hillsborough exploits amid strong links to the managerial vacancy with SPFL giants, Glasgow Rangers.

Rohl's time in charge of the Steel City side has been well-publicised in recent weeks and months, especially with his former club continuing to endure extremely challenging times under the controversial ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, with talk of a potential takeover still rumbling on amid supporter protests.

The German came to S6 in October 2023 as a relative unknown despite working in some high-pressure roles within his home country's national team and the likes of Southampton under former Saints boss, Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Wednesday and the Light Blues are two clubs who have both made several headlines across the early weeks of the campaign, largely for the wrong reasons.

Whilst the Ibrox giants' plight is nowhere near as desperate to that of the Owls - whose own immediate and long-term future remains in doubt - they have massively flattered to deceive, currently residing in eighth in the Scottish Premiership on as many points with one win, five draws and one defeat, some 11 points behind league leaders, Hearts, as Russell Martin's tumultuous reign was brought to an end ahead of the October international break.

Rohl has been one of the most heavily-linked names with the job, and such developments have only increased after reports emerged that Steven Gerrard - who won the title with the Gers in 2021 - had declined taking the reins at Ibrox for a second time.

As such, Bannan, who has been capped 27 times by Scotland, has praised his former boss and backs him to have a similar impact at Rangers to the one which transpired at Hillsborough.

Barry Bannan makes Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday admission amid Rangers links

The 36-year-old has been out of work ever since leaving S6 just nine days before the beginning of the current season, following links to a plethora of English and European-based roles after a well-documented fallout with the aforementioned Chansiri.

At the time of his appointment in October 2023, though, Wednesday were the only side yet to accumulate a Championship victory after Xisco Munoz's ill-fated reign following the initial departure of Darren Moore following promotion through the League One play-offs.

Rohl was able to mastermind 15 victories in just 35 league games during his first months in South Yorkshire, with the Owls consolidating their position in the second tier by three points, completing their 'Great Escape' act with a final-day success at Sunderland.

Last season saw Wednesday briefly flirt with the possibility of a play-off place. However, the second-worst home form in the division and a dire end-of-season run amid initial rumblings of discontent put pay to those prospects, with the Owls still ending the season in 12th place.

As such, Bannan has backed his former boss to make an immediate impact due to his persona within the confines of the dressing room and training ground.

“If he’s appointed, I definitely think he’ll go in there and get results right away," the 35-year-old told Sun Sport.

“For me, he’s up gather with the very best I’ve worked with during my career.

“I know Glasgow can be a difficult environment because of the expectation at the Old Firm.

“But I would expect him to really hit the ground running because he’s the type of man people respond to," he explained.

“At the very first meeting he had with the players, when he came into Sheffield Wednesday, he just blew everyone away.

“The way he spoke to everyone was just brilliant," Bannan added.

“He’s the same age as me so when he was appointed I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“But he had so much confidence and assurance in himself that you realised immediately he was going to be good.

“It was like he’d been a manager for years," the Wednesday captain claimed.

Sheffield Wednesday stint could help Danny Rohl if appointed at Rangers

Whilst the pressure for success is completely different at Hillsborough and Ibrox, there is no doubt that Rohl's latest experiences would only benefit him if handed the opportunity.

The likes of Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick and Raphael Wicky have also been linked in recent days, with all able to bring their own successful traits to the table.

As Bannan alluded to, Rohl has an extremely high level of self-belief which needs to be coupled with an on-pitch strategy which clearly gets the best out of players who are down on their luck, which is exactly what he inherited in S6 and is likely to in Glasgow, should he be appointed.

Even more so, Rohl would immediately have the backing of one player among the Gers ranks in the form of Djeidi Gassama, who moved north of the border on a cut-price deal in pre-season due to Wednesday's off-pitch woes.