BARRY Bannan is a Bolton player who hopes his wandering days are over.

Feted at various points as being part of the future furniture of the Scottish game, this creative wee 25-year-old midfielder had become more of an occasional piece.After the best part of a decade at Aston Villa, his career lost its way at Crystal Palace amid a bewildering array of managers - Ian Holloway, Keith Millen, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock and latterly Alan Pardew - until a certain Northern Irishman put a smile back on this Scot's face.

Neil Lennon took him to the Macron Stadium on loan on deadline day and has since viewed him as a mainstay, handing him the captain's armband at one point, and speaking warmly of making the deal permanent when his contract expires in the summer.

Lennon was a first-team star at Celtic when Bannan was in their youth ranks - the player left nursing a minor grievance about having to make his own way back to Coatbridge from Celtic Park after matches - but ironically his involvement now works against the interests of his former club. Bannan's previous visit to Hampden saw him take in the Old Firm League Cup semi-final amid speculation that he was due to join Celtic on loan instead. That deal never transpired, which makes for an interesting counterpoint with the fate of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay- Steven, two men who did move to Parkhead but weren't so lucky in their efforts to make the cut for this week's Scotland double header against Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.

"The manager [Neil Lennon] was a big influence in me going to Bolton," said Bannan. "I spoke to Joe Ledley and Stiliyan Petrov - guys who have worked under him and know him. They had good things to say and that had a big part to play in my decision.

"He was at Celtic when I was there as a youngster but we never met. He was a player I liked but I'd say Petrov was the one I looked up to as he was more attacking. When you are younger, you always like the guys who are scoring goals.

"He just basically said to me 'come up, play games and get your name back out there, because your career has stalled a little bit'. That was good for my motivation. He definitely knew a lot about me and I was surprised about that. It is good when you know that a manager likes you and has been following you over the years.

"There was talk about [a loan move] between Celtic and my agents. but I don't think it ever got close. It never got to a point where I'd be on my way up."

Thankfully, even through the bad times, the Scotland international team was a more constant source of sustenance for Bannan. He has 19 caps already and seems likely to add to that tally, either in the friendly against Northern Ireland on Wednesday or Sunday's latest Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar. A chirpy character, he is perhaps the case par excellence when it comes to that time-honoured Strachanism about the Scotland manager's requirement for "radiators" as opposed to "drainers". In other words, he wants players who are prepared to contribute heartily to the common weal, not those who simply suck the life out of the squad.

"Scotland was what was keeping me going," said Bannan. "Obviously my club football wasn't going the way I wanted it to and you could get down from that. But I kept getting picked for Scotland, played in big, big games against Germany and teams like that, and that was what was keeping me going.

"At Crystal Palace, it was getting to the stage where I was playing a couple of games and then being out for a month. When the new manager [Pardew] came in, I played the first two games then missed the next two. Then I left. I wasn't there for too long under him but I didn't want to hang about and see if he fancied me."

Bannan has been playing central midfield for Bolton each week, but could be regarded as something of a specialist when it comes to the skill-set required to unlock the all-out defence likely to be favoured by plucky minnows such as Gibraltar on Sunday. Failure to win is unthinkable. "The manager has used me in games like this and it's great to be approaching 20 caps," said Bannan. "I wouldn't say it's a different type of pressure. It's just a different game completely."

Bannan can expect some light- hearted banter with his club boss prior to the meeting with his native Northern Ireland - "I'm sure before we come up he'll give me a few warnings but it will go in one ear and out the other," he said, before laughing off his recent minor brush with celebrity after admitting on Twitter that he had been to see 50 Shades of Grey at a Bolton cinema, on his own. "I'm sure there are a couple of you that have watched it and you've not let on," he said.

Tickets for Scotland v Northern Ireland on Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm, are available via www.scottishfa.co.uk or 0844 875 1873.

Stewart Fisher