Sheffield Wednesday boss heaps praise on ‘outstanding’ Owl after ‘big disappointment’

‘Palms’ was the reigning Player of the Season after an excellent campaign in the Owls’ League One promotion win, but six games into Röhl’s tenure he was yet to play a single Championship minute for the new manager.

The German spoke of how he saw him as a right back only, which didn’t help his game time, but by the time the end of the season rolled around – and the great escape that came with it – Palmer had worked his way back into the XI, and played a host of roles, too.

He’s one of the many Wednesday players out of contract this summer, but Röhl says that it’s important for them to have a core ready for their 2024/25 campaign.

"For the future you need a strong core, it's so important you have a strong core,” he said. “You need a good balance between experienced players and new players – but this is a big job for the summer and not for today.”

And he went on to single out his vice-captain, saying, "I just say thank you to Liam. When I arrived he was not in the squad but his reaction after I decided he was not in the squad was outstanding, he went to the gym and worked hard.

"It was maybe a big disappointment for him but he showed he really wants to play and you could see how he improved, how important he was in the last weeks, outstanding…

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“You can speak about nearly every player because nearly every player has improved so much since I arrived. We improved them as players but also as humans. This is great to see."

Palmer made his 435th appearance for the club in the 2-0 win over Sunderland in which he scored the opening goal, taking him eighth on the club’s all-time list of appearance-makers – he’s hoping that next season he can close in on a spot in the top five.