Barry Bannan offers defiant message on Sheffield Wednesday future

Football League World

·16 May 2022

Barry Bannan offers defiant message on Sheffield Wednesday future

Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has vowed to pick himself up and “come back fighting again next season” as he looks ahead to the 2022/23 League One season.

The Owls were unable to bounce back up to the Championship at the first time of asking due to defeat in their two-legged play-off semi-final tie against Sunderland.

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That means they face another season in the third tier and it is understandable if there is concern among some Wednesday fans about whether the Scottish playmaker could leave to play at a higher level – having been nominated for the EFL League One Player of the Season award and been named in the League One Team of the Season.

However, in an interview with Yorkshire Live, Bannan has appeared to reiterate his commitment to the Hillsborough outfit and offered a defiant message about his future.

On missing out on promotion, he said: “You cannot put into words, really.

“There are a million things going through your head. Just letting people down is the biggest thing for me – your family and whoever was in here. You have people watching at home as well and you have let them down.

“It is hard to take and will hurt for a while. But what can you do, it’s gone now and you must just get on with it. I will spend time with my family now and just pick myself up and come back fighting again next season.”

The Verdict

Wednesday supporters will love this defiant message from Bannan, who it seems is as determined as ever to get the Yorkshire club back to the Championship at the next opportunity.

There were question marks over whether he would stay following the Owls’ relegation last season and despite now being 32, you have to think there would be suitors in the second tier if he wanted a move back to that level in the upcoming window.

Nothing that the Wednesday skipper has said since the defeat has suggested that might be the case and these latest comments show that his focus for next term is on helping the Yorkshire club.

There’s no doubt that’s excellent news for the Owls – with his nine goals and 12 assists this term illustrating just what a quality player he is in League One.