Popular Sheffield Wednesday man says sorry to fans of ‘this special club’ for promotion failure

Midfielder George Byers, who made a spot in midfield his own after an up-and-down start to life at Hillsborough, extended a message on his social media channels.

The 25-year-old signed on a free transfer from Swansea City over the summer and made 24 League One appearances including outings in both play-off semi-final matches against Sunderland.

A former Portsmouth loanee, Byers achieved his best-ever season goal haul with six and claimed two assists but couldn’t earn a Wembley spot or his side as they fell to a 2-1 aggregate defeat to the Mackems.

Posting on both Twitter and Instagram, the Ilford-born Scotland youth international wrote: “A lot of emotions after the other night. Will take me a while to get over it tbh.

“However the atmosphere was insane and I just want to thank every fan for the continuous support this season. Sorry we couldn’t get there. But a proud feeling to play for this special club.”

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Byers struck up a healthy partnership with fellow midfielders Barry Bannan and Massimo Luongo in the second half of the season, a settled trio that many onlookers credited with having a major part in the club’s impressive end to the campaign.

Captain Bannan has committed to Wednesday’s promotion push next term but with his contract set to run out in the coming weeks, the future of Australian international Luongo is less clear.