Why Sheffield Wednesday’s players are confident of remaining unbeaten for season and winning the League One title

The Owls have moved up to fifth in League One on the back of eight wins in 10 matches, 15 points behind leaders Rotherham United with a game in hand.

Dreaming about titles might seem extreme for a club Bannan says takes a steadiness from a manager in Darren Moore whose calmness is perfect for them, but their form is building an unshakeable self-belief.

“It’s a determined bunch,” said the midfielder, who scored twice and hit the crossbar against the Brewers. “I’ve never seen it like this before.

“We want to go to the end of the season unbeaten and see if we can actually win the league. That’s the feeling at the minute and that comes from the run we’re on. We think we can go and win every game this season because of what we’ve done over the last three or four months.”

There is a danger in being too confident, though.

“I’ll be a big part of keeping everyone’s feet on the ground,” said Bannan. “We’ve seen earlier this season you can’t get carried away but they’re a good enough bunch and they know what’s expected, what they need to do from now to the end of the season.”

Tuesday’s match marked Moore’s first anniversary as Hillsborough manager, and Bannan says his character is made for the club, sticking to his beliefs earlier in the season when promotion was looking a lot more unlikely.

“He can take it (the pressure),” argued Bannan. “He doesn’t get too high with the wins or too low with the losses. That rubs off onto us as well.

“You never see him flustered or ranting and raving. He’s a big enough character to deal with flak.

“You need to be a certain person to come here and manage or play. It’s a big club and they expect – so they should – so you need to be a brave character to be here and I think the manager’s got that in abundance.”

Another huge thing in the Owls’ favour is Bannan, an outstanding player now in a system playing to his strengths. His seven goals this season (plus eight assists) are leaving him well placed to win his bet with Callum Paterson.

“The club means a lot to Baz and he looks like he’s enjoying his football,” said Moore. “We’ve got him in a system that looks like it suits him, we’ve got him further up the pitch because he’s got wonderful ability and if we can get him nearer the goal we’ve always felt he’s an attacking midfield player.”

Bannan commented: “I’ve always wanted to get goals for this club. Maybe before I’d be looking for passes or being too deep but they’ve given me that licence and I’m getting into good positions and scoring goals.

“It’s probably half a season too late but we had injuries to Mass (Luongo) and George Byers so I had to play that defensive mid role that Mass plays brilliantly but I’m enjoying my football.

“I had a bet with Callum Paterson at the start of the season that I’d score more than him so I’m winning that at the minute (Paterson has five).

“It’s money and I think it will go to charity. It’s goals and assists so I’m a little bit ahead but whoever wins, as long as we get promoted, that’s the main thing.

“I just want to hit double figures and as soon as I do we’ll see from there.”