Barry Bannan warned Sheffield Wednesday will be one of the big beasts rattling cages in the Championship after his loyalty to the club paid dividends.
The Owls pied piper turned a deaf ear to all offers when Wednesday were relegated two years ago, and after their dramatic return with a 123rd-minute play-off winner against Barnsley at Wembley he had no regrets about staying.
Bannan said: “I wouldn't have missed the last two years because loyalty works two ways – the club showed me great loyalty by taking me out of the Premier League and giving me games, and in return I've signed two or three contracts since I've been here.
“I've always enjoyed my time here, I've connected with the fans and I've always said I wanted to get them back to where they belong, so this is a major defining moment in my career.
“When these fans turn out in the numbers they have, it didn't feel like we were playing in League One. I've always said I enjoy playing under pressure, when it really means something to go out there and win every week, and I've got that here.
“In the Championship, this club will still expect results and I like to take that expectation on my shoulders.
“I was involved in the Blackpool squad that won the 2010 play-off final when we got promoted to the Premier League, but this is much bigger - especially for a club I hold dear to my heart.
“When you find the winning formula, you get used to it and it's a hard thing to stop. There are a lot of teams who have gone straight through from League One to the Premier League and when you get into a winning habit it becomes normal.
“We played Premier League teams in the cups this season (Newcastle and Southampton) and we didn't look out of our depth. I know there are some big teams coming down like Leeds and Leicester, but we'll be a massive club in that division as well.”
Bannan praised the impact of sports psychologist Tom Bates, who helped to lift Wednesday's spirits and procure the play-off semi-final miracle against Peterborough, where the Owls retrieved a 4-0 deficit.
He said: “I can’t put into words what’s happened in the last two weeks, it’s been crazy, but we deserve it when you get 96 points and don’t go up automatically.
“We’ve had the sports psychologist with us for the last two seasons, but for the last three weeks he’s been in every day because it’s an important time in the season. We never once thought we weren’t going up.”
Last action hero Josh Windass, who scored Wednesday's winner with just five seconds of extra time left, emulated his father Dean's Wembley play-off winner for Hull against Bristol City in 2008.
Windass laughed: “You don’t realise how good a goal it was until you see it back and he’s been talking about it for 15 years, so I’m glad that’s ended now!
“When you’re growing up, when you’re five, six, seven years old, you make these scenarios up with your mates like ‘last minute winner at Wembley’ and that's happened to me now so it’s brilliant.”
