Chris Powell was Danny Rohl's assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday, working closely with the German. The Rangers Review caught up with Powell to find out more about how Rohl works, his eye for detail, building relationships and why he can succeed in Glasgow as he did in Sheffield.
Danny Rohl is no stranger to operating in a pressurised environment – not always the most conducive to developing a football team. At Sheffield Wednesday, he was the youngest manager in England working with, by common approval, an owner who could not have made life more difficult. So much so that, for Wednesday fans, going into administration last month was celebrated as it signalled the end of Dejphon Chansiri’s control of their club.
Next to Rohl throughout the whole process was Chris Powell MBE – a household name in English football who spent time on Gareth Southgate’s England staff before becoming Rohl’s assistant at Hillsborough and leaving alongside him two years later. Needless to say, the man now assisting Jack Wilshere at Luton Town is watching his former boss’ progress north of the border with a keen eye.
“For someone so young, Danny is a very strong-minded man and it's a very strong thing to do, accepting the challenge of managing Glasgow Rangers. I've got no surprises with what I'm seeing so far,” Powell says, speaking to the Rangers Review.
From why he makes so many half-time subs, to how he builds relationships with players and doesn’t like opponents guessing his formation, this is what it’s like working with Danny Rohl.
How Danny Rohl builds bonds with players and staff
Rohl has made a strong early impression on the Rangers support – already earning a song and proving a far more natural fit than his predecessor. With a background in German football, he can appreciate the material impact fan mood has on team performance and the importance of building a bond and bridge between the two groups.
Of course, Rohl will only be a success if he is successful, winning over a dressing room that has seen five managers in four years is his first port of call. Only a couple of years older than senior figures like James Tavernier and Jack Butland, how does the head coach convince a dressing room to buy in?
Powell says, “For someone so young, his knowledge of the game, his knowledge of coaching and preparing teams is one of the best I've seen in all my years. He's had wonderful experiences with Bayern Munich and Germany, but I think he's very aware of what a group of players and what a team needs.”
Rohl’s range of experience and adaptability were both important factors in getting the job at Ibrox. Having walked into Wednesday in October 2023 when they were rooted to the bottom of the Championship, his track record of working with elite players at RB Leipzig, Bayern, and the German national team alongside Hansi Flick has not been detached from the harsh reality of being a head coach, where timing, adaptability and often luck play such a factor. The best ideas in the world won’t work if not properly communicated – context is king in football.
While Rohl has spoken well so far in the media and must be conscious of hitting the right notes, he has not oversold the football fans are watching or made too many promises. What will really make this work is improving the team and letting that speak for itself.
“I think players everywhere at all levels, from when I played up until now, always ask the same question of a new manager, coach or member of staff, ‘What can you do for me and what are you going to do for us as a group?’” Powell adds. “With Danny [at Wednesday], I think people realised, ‘Oh, right, this is a serious guy.’”
Although Europe and the Old Firm cup tie proved a step too far for Rohl, there has been tangible domestic improvement since he assumed the role. With three straight league wins – often helped by subtle tactical changes from the bench before and during games – Rohl has already picked up more points than Russell Martin.
Powell continues: “He doesn't have to shout, rant and rave. Danny will do it when it's needed, but I think that's gone now [in football]. You earn respect and you earn your stripes with your organisation, the way you present, the way you talk to the group and immediately, if you recognise one or two things that have been happening that the team know needs fixing and you fix them, straight away players say ‘Right, we've got someone who's serious here’. Danny will do that.”
That’s a growing trend in modern football – clubs appointing coaches based on what they could do, instead of managers based on what they have done. It is more useful to have a modern coach able to teach than a more experienced manager able only to tell, if the incumbent has the personal and social skills to carry the weight of office.
With that in mind, it was impressive to see the German walk over to speak directly to fans following his debut 3-0 defeat against Brann in Norway, not hiding from the scale of the situation he walked into. Helping fans prepare a tifo for Rangers’ home tie with Roma last week was another example of small, authentic details that can be impactful if you try to build relationships with the support at the start – not when things spiral.
“I think he will buy into the area and the personality of the football club and the country because he knows that's what's needed. He bought into Sheffield, he understood the area and he'll do the same thing for Glasgow Rangers,” Powell says.
Brave decisions and why Rohl makes early subs
One of the eyebrow-raising moments in Rohl’s short tenure to date was a triple substitution at half-time away at Dens Park, with Rangers two goals to the good and comfortable against Dundee. Rohl himself said after the game that he wasn’t happy being only 2-0 up and wanted to make a ‘signal’ to his team that they could not coast until the end of the match.
Rohl is proactive rather than reactive with his changes, seeking to impact the game before it’s too late. Perhaps that is one of the many lessons he has gleaned working with elite managers such as Ralf Rangnick, Flick and others throughout his career.
“If something is not right, Danny will address it during the game or at half-time, straight away. I think he's the best I've seen at that, where he will just say, ‘You know what, it's not working, we need to change that and we'll do it now,’” Powell continues.
“There's no waiting about. He'll do it and in-game when you'll see him sitting down, he'll just write a few notes, tell the coaching staff, it's done and everyone's clear.”
In slightly different circumstances, Rohl also made significant changes when his team were a goal and a man down at half-time in a League Cup semi-final Old Firm defeat at Hampden – turning from his technical area, taking a deep breath and planning his changes to ensure that when a disgruntled team walked down the tunnel at the break, they’d be met with a solution in the dressing room.
The German took a risk by pressing aggressively with ten men and playing with two forwards – prompting memories for Powell of a game he’d managed at Sheffield Wednesday. In December of last year, Wednesday went down to ten men at home to Stoke on the stroke of half-time but scored two second-half goals despite their man disadvantage to win.
“You know, he's one of the bravest managers I've seen, especially with going a goal or man down. It's no coincidence that actually the team looked on a different level with 10 men [in the Old Firm],” he adds.
“He did it at Sheffield Wednesday and I thought it was so brave when we beat Stoke, we went down to 10 and still had a striker and sort of played a 5-3-1. Danny recognises what's needed and recognises where the weakness might be in the opposition, but you need to be adaptable as a player to play for him.”
What type of football does he want to play?
Adaptability has been a constant feature of Rohl’s early games in the dugout. The former Southampton, Bayern and Germany assistant stated early in his tenure that he is “not a coach who puts shape above everything”.
Replacing a dogmatic manager in Martin, Rohl’s ability to be flexible and tailor his approach to the squad he has available – while introducing a lot more intensity and pragmatism to Rangers’ game – has made an immediate impact. In return, he requires players who will keep running and wants ‘hybrid’ individuals across his team, comfortable in multiple zones on the pitch, not a set position.
Previously, the 36-year-old has said that his biggest tactical non-negotiable is intensity – and indeed, Rohl is visibly at his most animated when ushering his team to increase their pressure off the ball.
Read more:
The reasons behind Mikey Moore's upturn, Danny Rohl's tactical and unseen changes
Danny Rohl's new Rangers tactic explained: Back 3, asymmetry and shifting shapes
“You need to have lungs to play for Danny because you need to run. He needs you to run, he needs you to hunt,” smiles Powell.
“He wants to be better on the ball in certain areas, especially when attacking in the final third. Danny likes to build the play, but he's not afraid to go from keeper to the front line. He’s also big on counter-pressing (trying to win the ball aggressively just after losing it), especially in areas where the opposition may be disorganised.”
Rohl’s apprenticeship in Germany placed a heavy emphasis on a side’s structure off the ball. That has been important in seeing his side concede only once across three league matches – but of course, Rangers will spend more time in possession than out of it domestically.
As such, the head coach often favours an asymmetrical line-up, providing his team with flexibility to switch between a back four and back five, posing different problems on each flank to disrupt an opponent and allowing his team to dominate the centre of the pitch.
For example, that may mean that one winger is always narrow and the other wide or, as witnessed against Hibs and Celtic, one wing-back is more likely to get forward while the other forms a back four.
That word – asymmetrical – took a bit of getting used to for some in Sheffield, but confusing the opposition on the teamsheet is no bad thing when trying to remain unpredictable for opponents.
“He likes to have runners in the wide areas, going from outside to inside, creating spaces for other players,” Powell continues.
“I haven't heard that word for a while, asymmetrical. I used to hear that every week in the coach's room and see people scratching their heads, but I'm sure he's described it to everyone that he wants that for the group. For people to say, ‘What formation are you playing?' I think he quite likes that because it's adaptable in-game. Full-backs might be sort of in a wide position where people say, ‘Oh, is he a wing-back? Is he a full-back?’ It's just in that moment, they have to be in that position for the team to create problems for the opposition.
“Danny is very good at that. He can be intense and he wants his team to be intense, to mirror him.”
Why Danny Rohl stands out
So what, in Powell’s view, makes Rohl stand out as one of the “best he’s seen” in a long career?
“He has a clear identity and knowledge of his team and he will plan accordingly. I can't say anything more than everything [he does] is clear. There won't be one player who doesn't know what is required for any given game.
“You could see that working with elite players at Germany and Bayern Munich that Danny has learnt a lot about organisation and how to structure a team at an elite level. Obviously, I've seen that filter down at Sheffield Wednesday and it will definitely happen at Glasgow Rangers.”
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