Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield Wednesday: Why Barry Bannan takes hope from finger pointing and fresh voices

In those moments, he has liked what he heard.

When times are tough, the Owls media department often turn to their captain to set the tone, and Bannan has had plenty to say on the situation that sees him and too many colleagues for comfort out of contract. He also dismissed suggestions the recent wobble coming at the same time as the chance to finally get out of the relegation zone is anything but coincidence.

The midfielder likes a good stramash, as his fellow Scots put it, and was pleased to see a few fingers pointed in the inquest over Monday’s mediocrity at Middlesbrough.

It gives him hope for a reaction at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday – and there needs to be one.

Because whilst being two points from safety is a massive improvement on the dark days of Xisco Munoz, what current manager Danny Rohl called Monday's "zero performance" has added pressure to the trip to QPR – six points above the dotted line and surely all but home and hosed with a third straight win.

Points dropped at home to Leeds United and Swansea City were more down to moments than performances but there was no such excuses for a 6-0 hammering at Ipswich Town or the debacle on Teesside.

"The manager wasn't happy, the players weren't happy," says Bannan. "There were a few loud words exchanged and a few home truths told, which was needed.

"We're going to lose games throughout the season but there's ways of losing and Monday was a really bad way for us to perform.

"We just watched the game back and highlighted things that shouldn't be happening as footballers, as individuals, as a team. We need to do more.

"It doesn't really get done so much nowadays. When I was growing up it always happened but I think it's the best way to go forward, to highlight things that shouldn't be happening.

"It's all right showing videos and talking from a tactical perspective but when you actually highlight the errors it can touch home a bit more.

"It will help. It was right to do because it shouldn't happen, what we were seeing. Monday shouldn't happen and we've got to make sure it doesn't creep in otherwise it will be a hard end to the season.

"It's come at the right time, probably, and we need to make sure we learn from that."

But the team's chief spokesman knows there are times to keep schtum, and even more when talking has to be done on the pitch.

"There's times where I will speak and times where I won't because if it keeps coming from me it can be repetitive and boring," he says.

"It was nice to see other people coming out of their shell and speaking. I've spoken a little bit but not as much as you would think because sometimes other people have got to step up to the plate.

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"It's been good that people have voiced their opinions and that can sometimes make you stand up and appreciate it a bit more because it's coming from someone different.

"(But) talking's cheap, it's about whether it's shown on the pitch and that's what we've got to do."

He believes his team-mates will.

"I can only go off what we've done in the past this season," he says.

"We've lost games and had heavy defeats – recently at Ipswich and we bounced back, we should have won it against Swansea (a 1-1 Good Friday draw for the only point in the winless sequence).

"We've shown a few times when we've been on bad runs and bad results that we can bounce back and kick on. Hopefully we can do that. I'm confident that bare minimum the fans get 110 per cent at QPR. Hopefully we don't see any more performances like Middlesbrough."

What is slightly concerning is that a five-game winning run came in February and early March when it was all about making up ground. In each of the last four matches, victory would have lifted the Owls out of the bottom three for the first time since the table had any sort of meaning.

But Bannan does not believe anything has changed psychologically.

"I don't think so," he says. "We've won pressure games this season against teams around us.

"It's just happened that when we've won games (recently) other results haven't favoured us and when we've lost other teams have and if you'd won those games, you'd be out.

"I don't think it's us looking at being one win away from getting out and putting added pressure on us.

"Although it could look that way that every time we get in touching distance the pressure takes us under I don't think it's that, I just think it's that the performances at that time haven't been good enough."

With six games left to save their Championship status, Wednesday simply have to be good enough now. The time for fine words is over.