Bannan’s planning Owls’ great escape

BARRY BANNAN insists Sheffield Wednesday are “quietly confident” of pulling off a great escape – despite being seven points adrift with only eight games left.

The Owls are staring at a third dip into the lower divisions in 17 years after their narrow Good Friday defeat at Watford.

And with manager Darren Moore forced to call the shots remotely from self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, the odds are stacked against Wednesday.

But skipper Bannan (right), who made his 250th appearance for the club at Vicarage Road, still believes they can pull off an escape act – starting with tomorrow’s Bank Holiday date with Cardiff.

Moore’s assistant Jamie Smith – the sixth different permanent, interim or stand-in manager in the Owls’ dugout this season – will hold the fort again.

Bannan said: “We are fighting for our lives, but it’s a challenge we have to face head-on.

“It looks tough but we’re quietly confident of getting out of this.”

Mick McCarthy, meanwhile, has urged his Cardiff stars to refind their scoring touch. Wales aces Harry Wilson and Kieffer Moore couldn’t provide the cutting edge after a gruelling international break.

Defeat to Nottingham Forest left them five points behind sixth-placed Reading, and McCarthy is hoping his side find the form that put them in touching distance of the playoffs.

“We just didn’t have that bit of luck or bit of quality at the end to finish it,” he said.

“We didn’t create enough. I’m very disappointed.”