Cardiff City centre-back Mark McGuinness has revealed that he was happy with his progress at former loan club Sheffield Wednesday but wants to be competing at the highest possible level, speaking to his side's media team.

The Bluebirds are currently at the bottom end of the Championship and are in a contrasting situation to the Owls who are currently in a strong position to secure promotion from League One, with their consistency paying dividends for them at this stage.

Loaned out to Wednesday in the summer, the Irishman would have been invested in the project at Hillsborough with Darren Moore's men looking to get themselves back to the second tier at the second time of asking.

However, he was recalled by Cardiff last month after being praised on numerous occasions for his performances in South Yorkshire, with his presence arguably needed in the Welsh capital with his parent club finding themselves limited in what they could do in the transfer market during the winter.

This was because of their transfer embargo - and recalled McGuinness allowed them to add another option to their defence without needing to buy another player.

Despite enjoying a successful time with the Owls, the defender is glad to have returned to the second tier.

He said: "I was doing well in Sheffield and the team was doing well. But I wanted to be playing at the highest level possible.

"To come back and be playing in the Championship is my goal. I've always enjoyed playing here. It's nice to be back playing for the fans and alongside these players."

The Verdict:

It's probably benefitting the Irishman more to play in the second tier despite the fact the morale is good at Hillsborough - because he will want to be testing himself against high-calibre players.

In fairness, the standard of training in South Yorkshire must be pretty high considering the calibre of players Moore has at his disposal - but on matchdays - he probably isn't being tested too much.

He probably has a more important role at the Cardiff City Stadium than he does at Hillsborough too - because keeping the Bluebirds afloat in their current division could be crucial for them in their quest to remain a force in British football.

Their woes in front of goal also makes their defence even more important - and figures like McGuinness will be even more crucial in the coming months with Callum Robinson recently being ruled out of action.

The Bluebirds' gain has been Wednesday's miss though - because he did exceptionally well in the third tier and it was clear that he belonged in a higher tier when looking at some of his performances for the Owls earlier in the season.