PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR BANNAN AFTER HIS RETURN TO THE FOLD:

‘My Scotland career has had lots of downs but I’ve learned to deal with it’ ‘Don’t criticise the Championship in England, it’s even more demanding than top flight’

“The manager has shown great faith and backing for me”

BARRY BANNAN found maturity while sitting in a stand in Dublin. Perched high in the Aviva Stadium for a Euro 2016 qualifier, unused and unstripped, a Scotland career featuring more peaks and dips than Blackpool Pleasure Beach was in danger of coming off the rails.

In his younger days, he might have said something. On that night in June 2015, he learned to become what Gordon Strachan treasures most: the good team-mate.

‘It was myself and Johnny Russell who missed out,’ recalled Bannan.

‘My Scotland career has been full of ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of downs, so I have learned how to deal with them. I think I deal with it pretty well now.

‘The time in Dublin was probably the hardest one for me to take. You train all week and go over there and end up not stripped.

‘You feel down at the time, but then you get time to go away and think about it.

‘That was a massive game for us and that’s when you have to become a team player.

‘If you are down and the boys see that, then it can have an effect on them, as well. I basically turned into a supporter for that game.’

The reward for his patience and loyalty came last month. After a six-year international career had yielded a miserly 21 caps, Bannan was handed a rare start in holding midfield for the 5-1 demolition of Malta.

After a stunning debut in a 3-0 victory over the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie in 2010, captain Darren Fletcher compared him to pint-sized giants Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Paul Scholes. But Malta was the highlight so far.

‘My debut was special, but the Malta game was more important as it was a qualifier,’ added Bannan.

‘To start the match was a big confidence boost, so I would say that was one of my best performances.’

There were times — certainly more than once — where Bannan wondered if international football was worth the time and effort.

‘It does come into your mind sometimes when you come away and you don’t play and are in the stand,’ admitted the Sheffield Wednesday midfielder.

‘But I don’t think I would ever do it (give up on international football). I don’t think my family would allow me to do it.

‘When you’re at your lowest, it is hard not to think like that, but that’s when people around you come into play and help you.’

It was good to talk. Bannan has been around the Scotland set-up long enough to regard team-mates as friends. He also felt a debt of gratitude to the manager who continued to call him up even when he wasn’t playing for his club.

‘As much as missing out in Dublin was a bad experience, there are times when I was out of the picture at club level and the gaffer was still calling me up,’ said the 26-year-old.

‘In Croatia (a memorable 1-0 win for the Scots in a 2014 World Cup qualifier), I had barely kicked a ball for three or four months. I got called up and played. He (Strachan) has shown great faith in me.

‘It’s up to me, when I get the chance, to take it. I think I have a part to play in this campaign, like everyone has.’

His renewed confidence with Scotland comes from things going well with his club.

Before joining a small Scottish community at Sheffield Wednesday, Bannan feared he was running out of opportunities. Bouncing his way from club to club was doing no one any good.

‘When I moved to Sheffield Wednesday, I saw it as my last chance of making a name for myself down there, and it’s been the best move I’ve ever made,’ he said.

‘As soon as I went through the door, I played five or six games in three weeks and knew straight away it was the club for me.

‘I got on well with the manager (Carlos Carvalhal) from day one and the fans and players were great.

‘Playing in a winning team has also been a really big thing for me because I’m better in teams that have the ball.

‘Since going there, we’ve been up the top half of the Championship table and that has brought the best out in my game.

‘It’s probably been the best time I’ve had in football. I had been clinging on to the Premier League for a while, as Aston Villa just stayed up, and then, with Crystal Palace, the club had just won promotion.

‘I had to take a step backwards to build my career again and I think the 18 months I’ve been there has been really, really good.’ People can be sniffy about Scotland’s English Championship players. It’s seen as a sign of malaise and a lowering of standards in the national team, but Bannan thinks that’s harsh.

‘It’s massively unfair to criticise the level of football in the Championship. It really is one of the hardest leagues there is.

‘I’ve played in the Championship and the Premier League and the Championship is a lot more demanding — as well as being a lot more forgiving than the Premier League.

‘There are eight top teams in the Premier League. But below that, there isn’t much difference between the rest of the teams and Championship teams. It’s a very tough league.

‘If you look at the Welsh boys or the Northern Irish boys, a lot of them play in the Championship — and they did well at the last Euros.

‘Does that make us better prepared to play England this time compared

to last time? It probably does because it’s better playing week-in, weekout. You’ll be feeling more confident ahead of games for your country.’

There’s not much confidence or optimism surrounding the national team at the moment following the failure to reach Euro 2016.

Yet the players obviously believe in themselves. They believe that they can beat Lithuania at Hampden tomorrow and then go to Slovakia on Tuesday and get a result.

‘You try not to listen to folk who say that we won’t qualify,’ said Bannan.

‘It’s what we think — it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

‘We can definitely do it. We have a lot of experience. Guys who have played three or four campaigns.

‘So we have a mix of experience and youth. We are confident of achieving something good together.’