Barry Bannan explains surprise advantage of Sheffield Wednesday chaos as players ignore the ‘noise’

Add as preferred source on Google

Sheffield Wednesday are preparing for a Yorkshire derby in the Carabao Cup, but it’s set to be a strange occasion at Hillsborough.

Having beaten Bolton Wanderers in dramatic circumstances in the first round, the Owls now face Leeds United at home. However, supporters are boycotting the clash as Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership continues.

While the situation away from the pitch has been a source of continuous frustration for Henrik Pedersen and his players, on it, they’ve shown resilience and heart like never before.

Barry Bannan has been at the centre of this fightback from Sheffield Wednesday, scoring the first of his team’s two goals in their 2-2 draw against Wrexham on Saturday and now he has spoken out about the start to the season.

• READ MORE – Blackburn Rovers in a battle with Celtic to sign 14-goal striker valued at £5m by Ligue 1 club

Barry Bannan opens up on how Sheffield Wednesday are overcoming their challenges

After a summer of uncertainty for the Scottish midfielder, he was able to put pen to paper on a new contract with the Owls, and it remains their best bit of business in 2025/26.

Having a leader during tough times is vital, but Bannan has explained how vital the Sheffield Wednesday fans have been. He said: “Especially the away games have been unbelievable. We’ve really felt their support.

“Probably last season if we’d gone 2-0 down away it wouldn’t have been applause we were getting, I’m sure it would have been different. This season is going a bit different and when we walked off at half-time they were still right behind us and trying to galvanise us. We’re very thankful and very aware of that.

“If it has done something good, it has brought us and the fans closer together. In pre-season it was hard with everything that was going on. We didn’t have many friendlies.”

The Sheffield Wednesday captain continued: “As soon as the season starts you know the buzz you get from proper fixtures. It kind of takes all the noise away and you can concentrate on playing football again and being a footballer. I’m just glad the season has started, as are the rest of the lads.

“You hear a lot of noise going around on social media but that’s all as players we have seen – what everybody else is seeing. We’re just going in and doing our job, which is to try and get results for the football club.”

• READ MORE – Fabrizio Romano confirms Nottingham Forest ‘in talks’ with Leicester City over ‘bright’ defender

The Owls had plenty of success away from Hillsborough in 2024/25

In football, clubs usually find playing at home much easier, with their opponents having to enter a different and often hostile environment in search of points.

However, for Sheffield Wednesday, last season saw them have some difficulties on their own patch and instead their success came on the road.

Under the guidance of Danny Rohl, who left the Owls ahead of the new campaign, they won nine away Championship away games in 2024/25, drawing five times and losing nine matches.

In comparison, they picked up just six victories at Hillsborough, with eight games ending level while they were on the losing side on nine occasions. A back-against-the-wall philosophy could serve Sheffield Wednesday well this season, and it may just favour them on their travels.