Plan for departing Sheffield Wednesday heroes to have chance to say goodbye despite unknown exit status

A host of Owls players are coming to the end of their contracts with the club and are set to complete a lap of appreciation around Hillsborough after Saturday’s Championship clash with West Brom without confirmation of whether or not they will be offered new deals.

Three Wednesday players of the year are among them - Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer and Dominic Iorfa - along with League One promotion heroes Josh Windass, Marvin Johnson, Lee Gregory, Will Vaulks and Cameron Dawson. Fan favourite Di’shon Bernard is another.

Bannan is expected to stay on regardless of what division Wednesday find themselves in next season, while Gregory and Dawson are among those expected to depart.

Mystery clouds the other players and despite Danny Röhl’s assertion that it is a situation that should not be allowed to transpire again, work has been undertaken to ensure it doesn’t have too great an impact on the squad in the crunch weeks of the survival battle with Wednesday four unbeaten.

Röhl told The Star: “The first thing is to win the game and then we will go after the game together and go around (the pitch on a lap of appreciation). We will see. My mind is not on it being the last game for some players at this stadium, in this city. We know the situation and it is a bit difficult to say everything now, but I am very positive for the future.

“We have some legends here who are still playing. They know this club, they love this club and they understand this club. After this season, when we achieve our goals, we will sit together and find the solution and the next step of what we can do together.”

An opportunity for departing players to share a moment of thanks with the club’s fan base could be organised in the future, suggested Röhl.

“If there is a situation where both sides say ‘OK, maybe we look to a different way’, then we should look to a point in the new season to bring them back and really say goodbye,” he said. “But nobody has this in their mind, that it is the goodbye. It is about being sharp for the next three points, being ready and achieving our goals.”