Danny Rohl has shared what he has been speaking to Barry Bannan about since his arrival.
Speaking to The Star, the Sheffield Wednesday boss admitted he felt it was ‘important’ that he had a private conversation with the midfielder.
Danny Rohl arrived at Sheffield Wednesday in his first managerial appointment last month and was met by Barry Bannan, who is only eight months his junior.
The former Scotland international has spent the last eight years at Hillsborough and has become somewhat of a hero at the club, where he has been named in the PFA Team of Year on three occasions, won the EFL Goal of the Season and was also named the Owls’ Player of the Year during the 2020-21 campaign.
With Bannan’s importance to the club abundantly clear to practically everyone in English football, Rohl has stated how vital it is for him to create a ‘good relationship’ with the 33-year-old.
“It is important I have a talk with the captain,” Röhl said.
“He knows the club and he is able to play my style of football. He can keep the ball and he is smart on the pitch and understands football.
“It’s about creating a good relationship with him, but not about just myself in creating a good relationship with the players. It’s also about my staff and I think we are in a good way here.
“It’s about good communication and showing them what we want to do and how we want to do it. He is always a big part to have a link to the players and the locker room.
“If there are some topics, I will go and speak with him. What we speak about is good.”
Can Rohl and Bannan form an affective relationship?
The manager and captain being almost the same age is very rare in football, but it is something that could benefit both.
Barry Bannan is a figure that is well-loved and looked up to at Hillsborough, and getting the midfielder on your side and to invest in your ambitions and plans for the club is very important.
Bannan has already admitted that the players have ‘bought into’ Rohl and he could be the perfect talisman for the German’s potential success in Yorkshire. Meanwhile, the Owls captain has previously admitted that he is eager to go into coaching and could learn a thing or two from his new boss. Who knows, he could well take him under his wing when Bannan eventually retires.