Barry Bannan has behind-the-scenes responsibilities as Danny Röhl's main man at Sheffield Wednesday

He's the man that has become synonymous with the modern era of the club, the go-to name mentioned by opposition players and managers, pundits and fans whenever Wednesday are brought into conversation.

Now approaching 34 and - politely put - seen as an elder statesman of the club, Bannan has long been a link between players and staff, summoned for a one-to-one meeting with Darren Moore in the former Owls boss' first days at the club and serving as a sounding board for Xisco.

And new boss Danny Röhl - just four months his senior - is following suit, not only by having him as a key man in his on-field set-up but in having his club captain central to his efforts to drive the club forward from Middlewood Road.

Röhl is new to English football and has acted smartly to bring in Chris Powell as a lieutenant on the coaching side. In providing a link between dugout and changing room, Bannan the sounding board has remained, it seems.

"It is important I have a talk with the captain," Röhl said. "He knows the club and he is able to play my style of football. He can keep the ball and he is smart on the pitch and understands football.

"It’s about creating a good relationship with him, but not about just myself in creating a good relationship with the players. It’s also about my staff and I think we are in a good way here.

"It’s about good communication and showing them what we want to do and how we want to do it. He is always a big part to have a link to the players and the locker room.

"If there are some topics, I will go and speak with him. What we speak about is good."

Röhl is Bannan's eighth permanent manager since he joined Wednesday in the summer of 2015. The Scot has spoken about a desire to make the transition into coaching once his playing career is over and will no doubt be keen to soak up the knowledge of a coach who has worked with some of the sports' modern greats.

"All the boys have bought into it," Bannan said at the turn of the month. "It's hard because we're training at a higher tempo now and we need to get a little bit fitter. The last couple of games we've had people getting tired towards the 70-minute mark because of that intensity he wants.

"So it will take time but everybody has bought into it and that's the way we want to play: play on the front foot and win the ball high up if we can. It's been a breath of fresh air since he came in. I'm 33 and I've had a lot of coaches but I'm still learning and he's really impressed the lads and we all want to do well for him."