Danny Röhl's brutal FA Cup honesty offers clear hint on Sheffield Wednesday selection policy for Coventry City

National League Maidstone United await the winners of tonight's tie at the Coventry Building Society Arena in the fifth round of the famous competition, a draw that will offer either Championship side a strong chance of progression to the quarter-final stage after the two sides couldn't be separated at Hillsborough a week last Friday.

Defeat at Huddersfield Town on Saturday served as a major blow to Wednesday's survival hopes and stretched the deficit on the safety spots to eight points with 16 matches remaining. 19th-placed Birmingham City await at S6 on Friday in a match many will see as a must-win even at the relatively early stage of the run-in.

The Owls are carrying injuries - Josh Windass and Marvin Johnson are two of the players unlikely to make a return for the trip to the Midlands and several players are expected to be rested. Speaking to The Star after the Huddersfield defeat, Röhl said he would select his side as late as possible as player conditions are monitored - but made absolutely no secret of where his priorities lie heading into a two-game week.

He said: "I have to look on Monday at who is available and who is not. It will be like today (Saturday), I will make the final decision on who can play and sometimes it is not clear even to the warm-up. You have to decide who can start and who cannot, who can be on the bench and who cannot. I have to look at Coventry but the big game is against Birmingham.

Asked whether it could be that he decides to leave out the vast majority of his first team squad for the trip, Röhl said: "This is a decision that I will make on Monday and what I can do to achieve our goals in the league. The cup is nice, but the important, key point is winning on Friday of course."