Sheffield Wednesday: Danny Rohl responds to Sunderland speculation | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl insists he remains fully focused on keeping the club in the Championship amid reports of interest from Sunderland.

Sunderland are on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Michael Beale last month, with the 43-year-old departing after winning just four of his 12 games in charge since replacing Tony Mowbray in December.

Mike Dodds is in interim charge at the Stadium of Light until the end of the season, and a host of managers have been linked with the permanent job, including Alex Neil, Marek Papszun, Paul Heckingbottom, Steve Cooper, Will Still, Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Scott Parker.

Rohl became the latest name to enter the frame last week, with i News claiming that he is on the Black Cats' radar.

The German replaced Xisco Munoz at Hillsborough in October, arriving at a time when the Owls sat bottom of the table with just three points to their name, and he has won 12 of his 30 games in charge so far, drawing three and losing 15, to give his side hope of survival.

Wednesday are 23rd in the table, one point from safety, and they are back in action when they host Swansea City at Hillsborough on Good Friday.

Danny Rohl shuts down Sunderland speculation

Rohl said that rumours linking him with the Sunderland job are "not important", insisting that he is fully committed to Wednesday.

"Honestly, I said this some weeks before, that my focus is 100 per cent on the next eight games," Rohl told The Star.

"What happens with the next game is the difficult one and all the rumours around me are not important. They are rumours, everybody can speak and write something. My focus is here at Sheffield Wednesday, my focus is on my team and my focus is to achieve our goals with this club.

"What can you say? I can say that at the moment I am very happy here at Sheffield Wednesday. I enjoy the club and the supporters. I know how strong the relationship is and this is a key point for me as well. I have a good group here around me and I know what I want to do here. I know what we have to do in the summer to make a step forward. There are other things.

"The focus must be really clear when we look at our goals for the season. This is important for all those next steps."

Danny Rohl comments will be reassuring for Sheffield Wednesday supporters

Wednesday supporters will be delighted to hear Rohl's comments, but concern will remain about his long-term future at the club.

Rohl has done an outstanding job at Hillsborough in what is his first managerial role, and the Owls have an excellent chance of avoiding relegation having looked certain to go down prior to the 34-year-old's arrival.

While Rohl says he is fully focused on Wednesday, there are question marks over whether he will be provided with the necessary backing by owner Dejphon Chansiri in the summer to convince him to stay at the club, and his future would be uncertain if the Owls were relegated.

It is no surprise to see Rohl linked with Sunderland, and the Black Cats job could be a good fit for him given their model of developing young players.