Rohl is the frontrunner to replace Russell Martin after being firmly considered in the summer
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl(Image: James Marsh/REX/Shutterstock)
A ‘lack of dialogue’ from the Sheffield Wednesday board led Danny Rohl to walk out – just weeks after they missed out on a £1m payday for him.
The German is the favourite to replace Russell Martin at Rangers after Steven Gerrard‘s dramatic withdrawal last night and was firmly considered as an option in the summer, but the fact he was in a job at the time complicated matters.
Less than two months after the new Ibrox owners decided on Martin, though, Rohl dramatically walked out on Wednesday – before the EFL season had even started.
It didn’t need too much explaining given the financial hardships plaguing the club, something which allowed Rangers to pick up Djeidi Gassama for a perceived snip of what he was actually worth.
Rubbing salt into their wounds though was the fact Wolfsburg wanted to appoint Rohl in June and, according to reports at the time, were willing to pay up to £1m for his services.
Owner Dejphon Chansiri held out for his entire release clause and the Bundesliga side moved on, appointing Paul Simonis instead.
Weeks later, Rohl handed in his notice – citing a lack of sleep over the club’s inability to pay its players.
When he asked the owners for answers, they couldn’t give him them. So out he walked.
He told The Times in September: “I went days with no sleep keeping Sheffield Wednesday up.
“It was around the Hull game (1-0 defeat in April), where we lost to a very late goal.
“We couldn’t pay salaries and wages, the communication was not what I expected and there were all the small things.
“I fought myself, and asked myself: ‘What could happen in the summer? Do I have the conviction we can make the next step?’
“I tried to speak with the club, to see if there was a dialogue, and when there wasn’t I had to take a decision.”
Rangers’ interest in Rohl is perhaps connected to his roots in the Red Bull umbrella, starting his career in Leipzig’s youth setup in 2010.
He later became assistant manager to Ralph Hasenhuttl and his first experience of coaching in England came as the Austrian’s assistant at Southampton.
Rohl then spent time as Bayern Munich’s assistant manager, briefly following Hansi Flick to the Germany setup before breaking out on his own as Sheffield Wednesday manager in 2023.
Danny Rohl (left) and Hansi Flick (right) back in 2021(Image: THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)
He narrowly kept the crisis-hit club up in his first season before a respectable 12th-placed finish last campaign.
Financial issues proved to be their undoing in keeping him though – and may yet be Rangers’ gain.
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers page, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We’re also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here.
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.