Bailey Peacock-Farrell explains the impact of Barry Bannan at Sheffield Wednesday

Looking down the squads of League One teams this season, there are not many players like Barry Bannan in terms of his ability and the career he has had.

The Scotsman has been one of the best ball playing midfielders in the Championship for a number of years and would have had offers to remain there after Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to the third tier last season.

Bannan has taken a lot of responsibility in dragging the Owls towards the top end of League One after a slow start to the season and has led by example throughout.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell had his say on Bannan’s influence on the pitch when he spoke to YorkshireLive.

He said: “From playing against him, he (Bannan) was always in our meetings before games whenever we played Wednesday.

“He was a player that was highlighted with his ability and to watch out for because he can do certain things to control the game.

“You can see over the course of the season how he has affected games from his corners and range of passing.

“He has got goals as well and it is a great thing to have in our team.

“We are very lucky to have a player of his quality playing for us.

“To play almost every single game this season is a great achievement.”

Peacock-Farrell has played with some very gifted midfielders at both international and club level in recent years, but not many are able to dictate a game like Bannan can and the drop down to League One has only demonstrated that further.

The Verdict

There have been plenty of points in the season where the top six looked nothing but a pipedream for the Owls, they have suffered injuries to key players but Bannan has remained a constant in maintaining high standards around the club.

At 32, Bannan has started all but one of the Owls’ league