Sheffield Wednesday must present 'gift' to fans whose presence demands 'big responsibility' at Blackburn Rovers

Sheffield Wednesday will make the trip to Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park on Sunday knowing that the time for trip-ups is long since past. A remarkable resurgence from the depths of a worst-ever start to the campaign has given them the chance to stay in the Championship against all odds, with with their manager suggesting even 50 points may not be enough for survival this season, the task remains a stuff one.

But they’ll be roared on by over 7,000 travelling fans in Lancashire against a side four points ahead of them in the race to stay up. It’s hoped that such a stellar turnout can help inspire a famous - and important - away win.

“It’s a crucial thing for us, but it also makes it clear we have a big responsibility,” said Owls boss Röhl. “We have so many supporters with us and we want to give our massive fans the win, the gift. They deserve it. The biggest thing for me is to give our fans this present and a win.

“(The number of fans going) is a signal that they recognise what we did in the past and how we have performed, that we still fight and that we try everything. Our away games are sometimes really special with some good moments. It started at Stoke in the last minute, Preston which was difficult but we took the win, QPR, Millwall. These were always at a crucial point. It will be a special atmosphere in the stadium on Saturday from our side.”

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Blackburn clash, Röhl was keen to express the importance of keeping an even keel heading into another important battle. Rovers claimed a shock 1-0 win at Leeds United last weekend to extend their gap on the drop zone and Wednesday yet again will have the opportunity to climb out of the bottom three should other results behave.

The German coach said: “We must focus on our performance, focus on what we can really change and I see a group that is ready for this fight. We know it will be a big challenge, but we have to do our things right. We will see what we get. First of all we need a big performance from our side.

“If we take nine points the chance is big to stay in the league and all the other results at the moment I cannot change. I cannot look at the future, I can just prepare my team for Sunday. This is the challenge and the job this week. I have the belief, I trust the players. During the season we have had up and downs as a team, a good performance, a great performance poor performance. Overall we collect a lot of points, we have the next step that is necessary on Sunday.”