Danny Rohl has warned that his Sheffield Wednesday team are a far tougher side to beat as he prepares for his visit to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day.

The Owls arrive in great form having lost just one of their last seven games. It means they’ve climbed the Championship table and sit ninth ahead of their Riverside trip, just three points off Boro in sixth.

A lot of that is thanks to the turnaround since Rohl’s appointment at Hillsborough and as he prepares to bring his side to Boro again, he can’t help but reflect on their progress under him. That’s because last April’s Teesside trip was a first for Rohl in terms of his disappointment in his side as Boro coasted to a 2-0 victory. While the German knows this latest Boro trip won’t be easy, he feels content in knowing his side are ready to give a far better fight this time around.

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Rohl said: “It’s a tough one, away. Last season, we felt this. I think we lost ourselves at a crucial moment in the second leg. I think it was the first time I criticised my team, a little bit, in public. Normally, I don’t do this. After this, we went six games unbeaten.

"But I think Sheffield Wednesday, now, come from a different position to Middlesbrough, if you understand how we can break them down to our football, with our tools. It's also not the easiest one to play against, especially away.

“I think it’s not so bad [Wednesday's current position]. At the moment, if we want to look up, we are just three points away from the play-offs. At the moment, it looks not so bad. I have a big table and always know the xG and the result.

"They get a tick if it was good, or not a tick – let’s see after 46 games. But it’s a long, long way to go. We have 24 more games, we’re not even at the halfway point of the season. It’s crazy.”