Francis Jeffers issues relegation warning to Sheffield Wednesday, Danny Rohl | OneFootball

The ex-Sheffield Wednesday striker spoke exclusively to FLW about his former side

Ex-Sheffield Wednesday frontman Francis Jeffers has warned his former side about a potential 2024/25 Championship relegation battle.

There had been an uplifted mood at Hillsborough across the summer, with Rohl committing his future to the club before signing the likes of Jamal Lowe, Shea Charles and Yan Valery alongside striking returns for Ike Ugbo and James Beadle.

The Owls appeared poised to instantly return to League One when Rohl took over the club back in October, but a remarkable turnaround saw them avoid relegation on the final day. Indeed, had the league table taken place from the German's appointment to the conclusion of the previous campaign, Wednesday would have finished in ninth position.

Such a revelation had sought to instill optimism of Rohl leading his side towards the second-tier play-offs this term, which has been dashed somewhat following a difficult start to the season.

Wednesday appeared to set the ball rolling with a 4-0 opening day home victory over Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle, but they have lost their following three encounters against Sunderland, Leeds United and by an aggregate score of 9-0. Their troubling form left them in 20th-place heading into September's international break, with only bottom outfit Cardiff City having leaked more goals.

Rohl's side will be back in action when QPR visit the Steel City on Saturday afternoon, before a midweek EFL Cup trip to Blackpool awaits afterward.

Francis Jeffers' Sheffield Wednesday, Danny Rohl relegation warning

Although the league table most certainly does not take shape after four games, the initial indications remain rightfully concerning and Wednesday have been urged to pick up their form with immediate effect.

Former Arsenal and England international striker Jeffers made 54 appearances for Wednesday between 2007 and 2010, scoring on five occasions in the twilight of his career.

Quizzed on whether Wednesday’s target for the season should change after a difficult start, Jeffers warned his club to focus on the short term and not the long term to ensure they don’t get caught up in a relegation battle.

He said, via William Hill Vegas: "I think they just need to focus on the next few games to get a win under their belt.

"It is still very early, but you want to get clear of the bottom three as quickly as possible."

Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl must heed Francis Jeffers advice

For the time being, Jeffers' advice can surely be reasoned with. Wednesdayites will not likely want to hear that they should simply be looking to survive after a summer which had seemingly promised so much more, but their targets need to remain relative until they can lift their league position.

The Championship is so often unforgiving, and many teams have headed into previous seasons with ambitions towards the higher echelons of the league standings before becoming the victims of their own high standards and slipping into a relegation dogfight.

Rohl is arguably one of the finest managers at second-tier level and has constructed a competitive squad at his disposal, so it is difficult to envisage Wednesday succumbing to the drop after avoiding it at such a disadvantage in the previous season.

However, their start to the campaign shows such a prospect cannot be discarded completely, and it should really be kept in mind. Should the Owls generate some momentum and a white-hot streak of form to ascend up the table, then they can quite well readjust their targets, but they are not there just yet and need to remain focused on the task at hand.