Barry Bannan takes Rangers swipe after Sheffield Wednesday star watches Celtic defeat

Sheffield Wednesday were unable to find a way through Stockport County on Saturday as they were forced to settle for another goalless draw at Hillsborough.

It was the second consecutive 0-0 result on home soil for the Owls, with Barry Bannan once again finding himself at the centre of the opposition’s tactical plans.

The Sheffield Wednesday captain struggled to influence proceedings after Stockport repeatedly looked to limit his involvement. It followed a similar situation the previous weekend, when Wigan Athletic manager Gary Caldwell revealed that his side had assigned a player to follow Bannan throughout the match.

Bannan had even less opportunity to get involved against Stockport, highlighting a problem Henrik Pedersen will need to address.

With the international break providing Wednesday with two weekends without a league fixture, Pedersen has valuable time to work with Bannan and the rest of his squad on ways to counter teams that focus heavily on restricting the midfielder.

However, Bannan’s attention quickly moved away from Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday as his boyhood club Celtic faced Rangers in the latest Old Firm derby.

The fixture was the second meeting between the Glasgow rivals in the space of just seven days, giving the Celtic supporter another reason to follow events in Scotland.

Barry Bannan has never hidden his affection for Celtic, having grown up supporting the Glasgow club and spending part of his youth career in their academy.

The Sheffield Wednesday midfielder eventually left Scotland as a teenager, joining Aston Villa at the age of 14, but his connection with Celtic has remained clear throughout his career.

At 36, Bannan continues to make his feelings for the Hoops known, although the events of the past week have given him little to celebrate.

Celtic had made an excellent start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, winning their opening six league matches. However, their results in Europe and against Rangers have created a different picture and placed increasing scrutiny on Martin O’Neill.

The Champions League qualification collapse against LASK was a major setback, with Celtic throwing away a commanding first-leg advantage in Austria. Things then became even more difficult as they suffered three consecutive defeats across all competitions.

Two of those losses came against Rangers.

Derek McInnes’ team produced a convincing 3-0 victory over Celtic in the Scottish League Cup before returning to Celtic Park a week later and securing a 1-0 Premiership win.

That latest defeat ended Celtic’s perfect league start, but the Hoops remain at the summit during the international break. Rangers, however, have now moved to within two points of their rivals.

Bannan appeared keen to remind everyone that Celtic remain top of the table.

Bannan’s message after Rangers victory

Shortly after Sunday’s derby, the Wednesday midfielder took to his Instagram story and shared an image of the Scottish Premiership standings.

Alongside the table, Bannan wrote: “Calm down, I’ve seen this story before 😉☘️🤫”

The post appeared to reference Celtic’s position at the top despite their recent setbacks.

The Hoops now have a three-week break before returning to competitive action, giving O’Neill time to address the issues exposed during a difficult run of results.

Unless the two sides are drawn together in a cup competition, Celtic will not have an opportunity to respond to their two Old Firm defeats until their next scheduled league meeting with Rangers in late January.

Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday facing similar challenges

There are some similarities between the starts made by Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday this season.

Both clubs enjoyed encouraging opening periods before a difficult spell introduced some concerns heading into the international break.

Wednesday have slipped from the top of League One following consecutive 0-0 draws at Hillsborough. Their latest stalemate against Stockport County allowed Bradford City to move above them after their victory at Luton Town.

The Owls currently sit second with 14 points, one behind Bradford, while Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town, Cambridge United and Oxford United complete the current top six.

Wednesday could potentially fall further down the standings before their next league fixture because their number of players away on international duty has contributed to their schedule being affected.

Their next league match is not due until October 10, when they travel to face Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town.

Henrik Pedersen will therefore have plenty of time to work on a response after two frustrating home draws, particularly given that Wednesday have arguably failed to turn their performances into the points they could have taken.

Bannan will also be hoping for a reaction from Celtic when they return to action against Motherwell.

After three successive defeats across all competitions, the lifelong Hoops supporter will be keen to see his side stop the slide and protect their position at the top of the Premiership.