Barry Bannan delivers huge hint on Sheffield Wednesday contract detail after survival heroics

The Owls beat Sunderland 2-0 at The Stadium of Light to seal a famous survival mission that started when manager Danny Röhl took over in October. A run of three wins from their last three matches was enough on a day when the fated total of 50 points was not enough for Birmingham City.

Clearly in a jovial mood, the former Aston Villa man Bannan poked fun at the Blues’ demise on social media. And speaking to The Star post-match, he failed to conceal a smile when asked where his future lies. His current deal is up in the coming weeks.

“I’ve not signed anything yet but I’m confident that I’ll still be here next season from speaking with the manager and stuff,” Bannan said. “I’ve made it quite clear I want to stay here for the rest of my career and I’m 34 now, if I can keep going a year, a year, a year, I can see how far I can go.

“I’m still running around and I’m not feeling my age just yet - as much as I say that, this club can make you feel your age a wee bit! My legs feel good and for as long as I can go, I’ll be a Sheffield Wednesday player. It’s a case of getting this out of the way and then sorting it whenever. I am confident I’ll still be here.”

Asked what emotions he was feeling while standing outside The Stadium of Light tunnel, he said: “It’s hard to describe. Obviously there was last season and going in optimistic, then having the start we had.

“To be honest after that start we had everybody had written us off again, so to do that today is massive and probably better than last season.

“Listen, nobody wants to celebrate staying in the league. Nobody set out to do that at the start of the season, we wanted to establish ourselves in the league and see where we could finish, but it’s football. We found ourselves in a situation we didn’t want to be in and the way we responded in the second half of the season will live long in my memory.

“It’s credit to my teammates, I’m proud to be out there on the pitch with them and a massive thanks to the staff and everybody who has helped turn this club around. It’s not just the manager and staff, it’s everybody at the training ground people don’t see from the outside. We’ve all been in it together. When this club is all pushing in the right direction it’s a strong, strong thing to try to dislodge. You’ve seen that over the second half of the season.”