'It's crazy' - Barry Bannan and Danny Röhl revel in Sheffield Wednesday positivity after huge event

It’s understood that it was the most well-attended edition of the event since it began over a decade ago, with Owls fans heading out in their droves to enjoy an afternoon at Hillsborough Park.

Not many players remain at the club who have attended an OITP before given that it hasn’t taken place since before the Covid-19 pandemic, so for most it was an entirely new experience as Danny Röhl and his players wandered over from the stadium to be met by waves of blue and white shirts.

The Owls boss says that it felt like a celebration, adding that he’d love to see the momentum and positivity of their survival campaign roll over into the 2024/25 season, while Barry Bannan - someone who has seen it before - suggested that any new players will have been left in no doubt about the size of the club they have joined.

“It feels a little bit like we’re having an event at the end of the season when you’ve achieved big goals,” Röhl told The Star. “But it was all about looking forward. You can feel the positive energy, everybody is really excited for the new season, and I want to keep the momentum from last season. We know that those achievements are yesterday now, it’s about going forward to tomorrow. That means hard work.”

Meanwhile, his skipper went on to say, "For the new signings, they'll never witness anything like this again. It's crazy, they come to a day like this and even for me whose been here 10 years, you come to a place like this and it's packed. It's unbelievable and it shows you what it's all about and what the club is all about. If the new signings didn't know how big the club was at the time then I'm sure they will now.”

Players did the rounds signing shirts and balls while some took to a stage to address the supporters on an enjoyable afternoon in S6, and it certainly bodes well for what could prove to be a very exciting season for the blue half of Sheffield.