Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan has taken to Twitter to thank the club's fans for the support that they illustrated during last night's clash with Sunderland.
The Owls were eliminated from the play-offs by the Black Cats who sealed a trip to Wembley Stadium in dramatic fashion at Hillsborough.
Having suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of this semi-final showdown, Wednesday made a promising start to yesterday's meeting as George Byers' effort was saved by Anthony Patterson.
Following the break, Lee Gregory levelled the tie on aggregate by giving his side the lead in the 74th minute as he fired home after being teed up by Marvin Johnson.
With the clash seemingly heading towards extra-time, Sunderland eliminated the Owls from the play-offs in the 93rd minute of the fixture as Patrick Roberts slotted an effort past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Wednesday are now set for another year in the third-tier after failing to achieve their goal of securing an immediate return to the Championship.
Following this clash, Bannan opted to praise the club's fans on Twitter.
The midfielder posted: "Where do I start?
"Last night we come up short but I'm proud of my team and staff that has been on this journey with me, this season we gave our all to the very end, keep your heads up.
"The fans, wow, best I've seen [at] Hillsborough thanks again you're amazing."
The Verdict
Having missed out on promotion this season, it will intriguing to see what the future holds for some of the existing members of Wednesday's squad.
In order to go one step further in the 2022/23 campaign, the Owls will need to keep Bannan at the club this summer.
Whereas the midfielder has admitted that he wants to stay at Hillsborough, Wednesday's resolve could be tested if a team from a higher division decides to submit an offer for their captain in the upcoming window.
A stand-out performer in the third-tier, Bannan provided 21 goal contributions at this level in the 47 appearances that he made for the Owls and recorded an impressive average WhoScored match rating of 7.18.