Barry Bannan gives coaching update with Sheffield Wednesday skipper set for Irish trip

The 34-year-old is fully focused on trying to help the Owls maintain their place in the Championship this season and has put in a couple of big performances in recent matches as they fight for survival in the second tier of English football – and he’s also trying to learn from manager, Danny Röhl.

Bannan has spoken previously about his intentions to step into coaching when his playing days are over, and a desire to be involved at Wednesday in some capacity, so it’s no shock that he’s working towards achieving his coaching badges in the near future.

Over the summer he’ll be heading out to Northern Ireland – hopefully after safety is secured – and he admits that he’ll be picking the brains of the current technical team in order to aid his coaching education.

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“Obviously I’ve touched before on how I want to stay in football and manage when I’ve finished,” he said to The Star. “And this summer I’ll be finishing everything - that’ll be done in May when I do my B and A licence in Northern Ireland. Hopefully that’ll get passed, and then I can continue with the last few years of my career before I step into that.

“Danny has been great to learn from, as has Henrik (Pedersen), Sascha (Lense), Thommo and Chris Powell - they’ve been a breath of fresh air. Danny is another manager that I can take sessions from and take little parts from.

“Every manager that I’ve had has all had good parts that I can probably use further down the line when I go into the coaching side of it, but I will be speaking to Henrik and Danny more closely about that side of things throughout this year.”

Once Bannan has his A Licence - the second highest available - he’d be eligible to manage sides in the Championship and below, however he’d need to eventually go on and get his Pro Licence if he wanted to be a full-time manager in the top flight of any European nation - or at a Champions League or Europa League club.