Former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock has been speaking about Sheffield Wednesday and Barry Bannan ahead of the Steel City derby on Sunday.
Sunday sees the return of the Steel City derby after five years, with Sheffield Wednesday making the journey to Sheffield United for a game that’s been highly anticipated in the city for a long time now.
As of now, Sheffield United sit in 2nd place of the Championship table and the Owls in 15th, with Danny Rohl’s side having had quite an inconsistent season so far.
Last weekend, Wednesday lost 6-2 against Watford at Hillsborough. But Sheffield Wednesday beat Norwich City 2-0 in their following game to set themselves up for the trip to Bramall Lane.
Chris Basham says Sheffield Wednesday’s recent win will have hurt Chris Wilder at United, as the Blades go into this one on the back of three-straight wins.
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Neil Warnock hails Barry Bannan and shares funny Middlesbrough story
Speaking on Football Heaven, Neil Warnock discussed the upcoming Steel City derby, and Owls captain Barry Bannan.
Bannan signed a new Sheffield Wednesday contract in the summer, entering into his 10th season and now having 419 total appearances for the Owls.
The 34-year-old has featured in all 14 Championship games so far this season and has two goals and one assist to his name.
Giving his thoughts on Bannan, and sharing a memory from when he was Middlesbrough manager, Warnock said: “What can you say about Barry Bannan? I thought he’d finished 10 years ago, me. He just gets better and better.
“I remember going on the pitch at Middlesbrough when we played them a couple years ago, and after the game going up to him and saying, ‘I can’t believe how good you are, Barry’.
“It’s such a credit to him that he’s stayed loyal to the club as well.”
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Barry Bannan wants retirement with Sheffield Wednesday
Bannan is widely thought to be out of contract at the end of this season. And inevitably, that’s lead to a lot of speculation about his future, especially with the Scot having been in good form this season.
But Bannan spoke out on his Sheffield Wednesday future earlier this season, having this to say: “I’ve made that clear over a number of years now, I want to finish my career here.
“Sadly, sometimes that doesn’t happen in football. It’s down to the manager and the chairman, if they can keep putting up with me!”
So for Bannan, all he can do is keeping on putting in good performances, and there’s no better stage to do that than at Bramall Lane this weekend.
It could well be Bannan’s last Steel City derby and so he’ll want to come out of it with a win, which certainly feels possible, though it’s going to be a grind for both sides.