Sheffield Wednesday are in a strong position to finish in the League One play-offs this season, ahead of a must-win encounter against Crewe Alexandra this evening.

The Railwaymen, who have already had their relegation confirmed, stopped the rot with an impressive 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon on Friday and will be hoping to take some momentum from that result into their trip to Hillsborough.

Owls talisman Barry Bannan could well go on to win the League One Player of the Season award and will be a key player, no doubt, as Wednesday look to climb back into the top six against Crewe.

The Scotsman gave an insight into his and the squad's mindset heading into their final four games when he spoke to YorkshireLive.

He said: "There’s still a lot of work to be done.

"It’s tight... I think we’ve got a game in hand on someone above us so we could move up if we win that game in hand.

"But we need to just take each game as it comes now.

"That’s what we’re focusing on now.

"We were caught maybe halfway through the season looking too far ahead, and now we just want to win every game as it comes.

"The Crewe game is going to be tough so we’ll now be concentrating on that.

"It’s in our hands now to finish where we want to finish - if we fall out of it now then it’s our own fault.

"But we are quietly confident because we have got a great squad and team spirit at the moment."

Wednesday have gone on a tremendous run since the turn of the year and it would come as a shock to see them miss out and for Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers to stay inside the top six at their expense.

The Verdict

 

 

Bannan has been a relentless driving force from central midfield, even in the more difficult spells of the season for Darren Moore's men and will play a key role in the Owls' promotion push.

The former Aston Villa man has the ability to dictate play at third tier level and could return to the second tier next season, with or without Sheffield Wednesday.

The visit of Crewe simply must yield three points or the Owls will put a lot of pressure on their shoulders in the final few games of the season.

It will be interesting to see just how rejuvenated Alex Morris' Crewe are against quality opposition under the lights at Hillsborough.