Barry Bannan reacts when asked if Sheffield Wednesday's players will not play Leicester City fixture | OneFootball

Barry Bannan has committed his future to Sheffield Wednesday with a new contract for next season

Barry Bannan has praised his fellow Sheffield Wednesday teammates amid fears over the club’s ability to fulfil their opening league fixture against Leicester City.

The 35-year-old committed to a new contract with the Owls earlier this month amid speculation over his future.

A number of key players like Michael Smith and Josh Windass have already departed as free agents this summer after unpaid wages allowed them to mutually terminate their contracts, leading to further calls to Dejphon Chansiri to sell his stake in the Yorkshire outfit.

The players also released a statement on Monday to express their concerns with the running of the club, having pulled out of a friendly against Burnley during the weekend.

Barry Bannan opens up on Sheffield Wednesday’s difficult summer

Bannan has praised his fellow teammates for their professionalism throughout this uncertain period since coming back for pre-season.

He’s outlined just how difficult this summer has been for the players who have stayed with Sheffield Wednesday.

“The lads have been brilliant since we’ve come back, I can’t complain,” said Bannan, via Talksport.

“I thought it would be hard to try and keep the group going and stuff, but they’ve been ultimate professionals, come in and worked hard every day, done the running that you probably don’t want to do and you’ve got loads of excuses to pull out of, but they’ve been amazing, to be honest.

“We’ve kept ourselves really fit, but it’s hard because you don’t know what you’re allowed to do.

“Because this never really happens, it’s never happened to any of us, so we don’t know what the rules and stuff are, we don’t know what we’re actually allowed to do.”

Barry Bannan responds to Leicester City fears

When asked whether there was any possibility of the Sheffield Wednesday squad going on strike, Bannan replied: “No, I don’t think so.

“We obviously pulled out of the Burnley game at the weekend.

“That was simply because it’s happened too much now, and I think it’s a lot easier to pull out of a pre-season friendly game than it is obviously a Championship fixture.

“Because we’ve just come into training and got on with it, made it look to the outside world that we’re fine with it, just getting on with it, which was our choice to then say enough is enough, really.”

Sheffield Wednesday’s clash with Leicester is scheduled for 10 August.

Bannan’s commitment to Sheffield Wednesday is commendable

It would’ve been very easy for Bannan to walk away from Sheffield Wednesday this summer and find a new club elsewhere.

He would’ve had no shortage of options, but he instead opted to stick with the Owls even as he comes to the final stages of his career.

That kind of loyalty is commendable, and he and his teammates deserve the clarity of knowing what’s next for the club.

It would be a disaster if the Leicester fixture cannot go ahead, and Bannan has seemingly eased some of those fears, but nothing appears certain with the Yorkshire outfit at the moment.