Sheffield Wednesday: Owls star eager to repay loyal fans

Barry Bannan has told his Owls teammates that they owe their fans a big performance at promotion rivals Brighton and Hove Albion tonight.
Barry BannanBarry Bannan
Barry Bannan

The talented midfielder apologised to Wednesday’s supporters in the wake of their disappointing display in Saturday’s 1-0 Hillsborough loss to Rotherham United.

But despite the Owls’ shock slip-up, over 1,400 fans are expected to make the long trip to Sussex today.

Now Bannan has challenged the team to put in a strong showing to repay their loyal fan-base.

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“The fans have been unbelievable all season,” the Scotland international told The Star.

“They have come everywhere to cheer us on, no matter whether it’s a Tuesday night at Brighton or on a Saturday afternoon.

“They are always there backing us in their thousands. We thrive on that as players. We owe the supporters a performance as we have not been good enough in recent weeks. We have not really performed. We have shown bits and bobs but we have not shown enough to win the games.

“We owe ourselves a performance more than anything. We have got to perform and hopefully we can get a positive result that can send the fans home happy.”

Bannan, who has been instrumental in Wednesday’s top-six tilt, expects fourth-placed Brighton to be another stern test of their promotion credentials.

“They play an entertaining style of football, as do we so, it should make for a good game,” he said. “We have to use our heads as well.

“We can’t go there thinking all out attack because they are a good team and will punish us. We will have a game plan and hopefully it will be enough for us to get the three points.”