It's not just bringing players in that's crucial to Sheffield Wednesday's summer

There is something intangible, without exception, at the heart of every team that achieves its goal. And it has nothing to do with ability, age or transfer value. Because it’s not bodily, it’s spiritual. The power of a group putting the team first and the individual second.

That, in my view, is the chief reason why Sheffield Wednesday pulled off their great escape from relegation; Danny Rohl’s greatest managerial trick. It’s also why, for all the emphasis on strengthening, the club must protect this indefinable hidden quality at all costs.

Interestingly, it flies against the mid-season assumption that the Owls needed a wholesale clear out. I’ll admit I was tending towards that at one stage. But as the campaign reached the business end, it was the core group of longer-serving senior players who pulled through. It was their collective resolve that swung the issue. They all showed they get the club, its connection with a large fan base and what it means.

It’s for that reason I hope as many as possible - and they run into double figures ahead of the retained list - survive into next season. What they represent together exceeds the value of the parts. A strength of spirit not to lose. And a great re-starting point. For once, all the pieces need not be flung in the air.

It means also that Wednesday can focus on adding some youthful quality with something already to build on. Getting the balance right between the two will decide how they fare next season, in particular the aim to compete at the top end of the Championship.

Of course, keeping the manager is paramount and the resolve shown by the owner in apparently slapping a £5m price tag on Danny Rohl’s head is welcome. That said, there’s something about it I don’t quite follow. Would Rohl (any manager) have signed a contract to keep him captive to that extent?

It’s an amount way beyond the normal severance terms, either way, in a deal which currently has a year to run. Typically, the compensation is geared to that. But it’s true Wednesday did receive a multi-million pound bounty from Newcastle when Steve Bruce left. And if it’s a ploy that helps keep Rohl at S6 then all’s well that ends well.