Millwall star addresses Barry Bannan's influence ahead of emotional Sheffield Wednesday return
Former Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan will be back at Hillsborough with Millwall this weekend.
Millwall midfielder enforcer Casper De Norre has saluted the level of encouragement he has been given by Barry Bannan ahead of the Scot’s return to Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
Just over a fortnight after leaving Wednesday to join Millwall for an undisclosed fee, ending a ten-and-a-half-year stay with the Owls, Bannan will make an emotional return to Hillsborough with the Lions on Saturday afternoon.
Having made his farewell appearance for Wednesday against Bristol City at Ashton Gate, the Lions’ trip to S6 will give thousands more Wednesday supporters the opportunity to show their appreciation to the Scot, who made 477 appearances for the Owls, establishing himself as a modern-day club legend.
Since swapping Hillsborough for The Den, Bannan has made two appearances for Alex Neil’s side, banking his first start in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground, helping the Londoners cement their position in the Championship play-off places.
Although he has only been a Millwall player for just over a fortnight, the 36-year-old has quickly made his presence felt with De Norre revealing how he is already trying to boost his teammates’ confidence levels.
“Before I came to England, I didn’t know him, but after the first season, I knew who Barry Bannan was,” De Norre told Southwark News. “It was always very tough playing against him because of his quality.
“Then, when he joined, you could see he had so much experience, and you could learn so much from him. It was also quite nice during the game, he said something like, ‘Casper, you’re a good player. Come, just get on the ball and just start playing.’
“It just gives you that confidence if someone like him says that.”
De Norre hails Bannan
Bannan, who will be in line to receive one of the best ovations a former Wednesday player ever has when he returns to Hillsborough, started the aforementioned victory over Wrexham in the No.10 position. His presence in that role, according to De Norre, gives the Lions a new way of playing.
He continued: “With Baz coming in now, he played obviously now in the ten last weekend. It was one of the first times that we were playing with a real No.10.
“What we’ve been doing lately is we played quite a lot through the right side and through the left side. There were a few moments in the game that I could have looked to pass to him in between the lines, in that space.
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“But because I’m not used to having someone there, especially this season, we always play through the sides. We need to get into a habit of if he plays, we have to look for that space because that’s where he can be dangerous for us.
“It is adapting because obviously there’s a different type of player there now, and he’s going to find those spaces to get the ball and get on the half turn and give those final passes.”