Barry Bannan reveals surprise job he had to take at Sheffield Wednesday this summer to keep club afloat

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Barry Bannan has provided a fascinating insight into what life has been like for a Sheffield Wednesday player over these last few months.

The Wednesday captain extended his stay at the club after there were concerns that the Owls wouldn’t be able to afford to keep him.

Dejphon Chansiri has one week to ensure players are paid on time – something that has proved difficult for the controversial owner over these last few months.

Bannan has experienced it first hand and revealed that Wednesday’s problems ran far deeper than anyone could imagine.

• READ MORE: Championship experts praise Barry Bannan for ‘remarkable’ thing he’s doing at Sheffield Wednesday

Barry Bannan had to act like a sporting director

With staff members leaving left, right and centre, people were taking on roles with which they were unfamiliar with.

The Owls icon was no different amid the ongoing pay issues, and revealed he was having to act like a sporting director.

He told the Open Goal podcast: “It’s been hard since the end of last season.

“In the summer it was like three months from four not getting paid, and not like days – it was like three or four weeks at a time. Then we were two months behind, and as you can imagine the boys are on holiday with their families and there’s nobody at the club to contact to get hold of the chairman. So it’s just me and the chairman’s secretary. We’ve not really got people in jobs like a sporting director or whatever, so I was getting a load of phone calls.

“That’s not something I’ve really had to deal with, I just like getting out and playing football and leading by example on the pitch. I’m not necessarily an amazing captain off the pitch. And I was getting asked loads of questions which I didn’t know the answers to.”

Barry Bannan continues to show his true colours

Despite the horror stories that continue to come out of Hillsborough, Bannan is the example of everything good that remains at the club.

Their off-field problems haven’t dampened their spirits on the pitch, with Henrik Pedersen’s side beating Portsmouth at the weekend to secure their first win of the season.

As it stands, the Owls are four points clear of Steel City neighbours Sheffield United, who are bottom with zero.