Sheffield Wednesday: Owls ace Barry Bannan eyes Play-Off repeat

Barry Bannan is convinced the Owls can emulate his old club Blackpool by winning promotion to the Premier League.
Barry BannanBarry Bannan
Barry Bannan

The talented midfielder was an integral member of the Seasiders side who defied the odds to go up via the play-offs to the top-flight.

Bannan, who was on loan from Aston Villa, came on as a late substitute when Ian Holloway’s men edged a five-goal thriller against Dave Jones’ Cardiff City at the national stadium.

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“I got promoted with Blackpool in 2010; we beat Cardiff 3-2 in the final,” he said. “It is pretty similar to this (Wednesday’s) situation.

“We had a late run at Blackpool and ended up finishing sixth. We beat Nottingham Forest in the Semi-Finals and Cardiff in the Final. Cardiff finished fourth and just missed out on the automatics.

“Anybody can win the Play-Offs and we were the underdogs but ended up winning it. We beat Forest 4-3 away from home after winning 2-1 at home.

“We won the final which was unbelievable.”

In his career, Bannan has twice worked under Holloway at Blackpool and Crystal Palace.

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“I got on really well with Ian and he is a manager who helped me progress to where I am today,” said the Scotland international, who was named in the Championship’s PFA Team of the Year last month.

When asked if he sees shades of Holloway in Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal, Bannan replied: “They have both got big personalities but are completely different.