Barry Bannan reveals ‘loads of things’ unpaid Sheffield Wednesday players have had to deal with in pre-season

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Pre-season preparations at Sheffield Wednesday have been marred by the ongoing turmoil at the Owls.

Sheffield Wednesday have only days to wait until their Championship opening weekend clash against Leicester City, but the Owls’ preparations are being hampered by the club’s ongoing financial crisis.

Sheffield Wednesday fans will protest against Dejphon Chansiri this weekend at the King Power Stadium after a summer of horror at Hillsborough.

Barry Bannan signed a new Sheffield Wednesday contract at the weekend, in one of the few positive headlines surrounding the Owls all summer.

Now, the dedicated Owls skipper has lifted the lid on what he and his Sheffield Wednesday teammates have had to put up with throughout their pre-season preparations.

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Barry Bannan reveals what Sheffield Wednesday’s pre-season has been like

Bannan appeared on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning to bring the Sheffield Wednesday plight to light.

After it emerged last week that Sheffield Wednesday players could go on strike over unpaid wages, Bannan revealed how the Owls squad feels about strike action heading into the opening fixture at the Foxes.

As well as that, the 35-year-old midfielder also commented on what the unpaid Sheffield Wednesday players have had to deal with in pre-season this summer.

Bannan told talkSPORT: “It’s really hard cause it’s not just the wages and stuff that we’ve been facing the last couple of months.

“Since we’ve come back to pre-season our pitches weren’t ready so we were training on Astro turf for a bit, which you know, modern day footballers don’t really get on with Astro turf.

“And then, we went away to St George’s [Park], but we’ve had the under-23s coaches, Andy and Giles Coke, who stepped in when the manager didn’t come back.

“So, on top of not being paid, which isn’t nice, there’s been loads of things as well which from the outside you probably don’t see.”

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How many Sheffield Wednesday players from last Championship game remain?

Sheffield Wednesday’s 2024/25 Championship campaign concluded with a 1-1 draw away at Watford, in a clash which has proven to be Danny Rohl’s last game in charge and the final outing for several players.

A summer exodus has occurred from Sheffield Wednesday this summer, with fewer than half of the starting XI that took on Watford in May remaining.

Josh Windass joined Wrexham, and Preston North End signed Michael Smith after the attacking duo terminated their Owls contracts this summer.

Replacing the goalscoring void of Windass and Smith will be difficult for Henrik Pedersen this season, as will somehow guiding the Owls to safety from League One relegation.