‘Look at ourselves’ - Barry Bannan says Sheffield Wednesday’s players need to shoulder responsibility

Wednesday have had a difficult start to the campaign since promotion out of League One last time out, and their winless run has seen the pressure ramp up on new manager, Xisco, ahead of this weekend’s game against Sunderland.

Eight games without a win sees the Spaniard and his side sat bottom of the table with just two points to their name, but there appears to be confidence internally that all involved have the ability to turn things around if they keep working towards their collective goal.

The Black Cats visit Hillsborough on Friday night as the two teams face off once again at S6 - this time as second tier equals - and the Owls skipper believes that they all need to shoulder the ‘heat’ that’s coming the way of the man in charge at this point in time.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, the Owls skipper said, “There’s a lot of people speaking about the style of play and the manager, but as players we’ve got to take the brunt - we’re the ones out there and underperforming as a team and as individuals. I know the manager is getting a lot of heat, but the players tend to get away with it a lot.

“We’ve got to stand up in that changing room and take it on our shoulders as well. We’ve not performed as a team this season, and it’s letting the manager and the club down at the minute. So we’ve got to look at ourselves before we look anywhere else.

“There has been a lot of change here, it does take time but in football, time is precious but we have to find a way to win games. It's hard for the fans at the minute but we need to stick together and I'm certain good things are around the corner... We believe in the manager and his coaching staff, and if we keep doing what we are doing I am confident the results are going to come.”

Bannan, who is expected to play his 367th game for the Owls on Friday night, has been through tough times before at Hillsborough, and will be desperate to play his part in helping them turn around their fortunes and start climbing up the table as soon as possible.