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Barry Bannan is willing to wait a little longer before finding out if he has passed his Wanderers audition.
A rare highlight in the dull draw against Blackpool and a driving force behind a stunning second half at Cardiff, the Scot is certainly closing the final act of the season with some strong performances.
But Whites fans are desperate to know if he will make his final bow against Birmingham on May 2, or whether the dynamic midfielder will be back for an encore next season.
Neil Lennon has praised Bannan highly in the last two games, suggesting the thought of signing the 25-year-old permanently has crossed his mind.
Any deal, however, is likely to rest on the goodwill at Crystal Palace – now clear of relegation trouble and looking to invest in Alan Pardew’s own transfer targets this summer.
Bannan is keeping his head down for now, revelling in regular football which was somewhat of a rarity at Selhurst Park under Neil Warnock, Tony Pulis and now Pardew.
“I came here to play games and I’ve played a lot in the last couple of months and I am really enjoying it,” he said.
“Everybody has been brilliant and it’s been great to get that bit of stability and get some regular game-time under my belt.
“Come the end of the year, if I have impressed, then I would like to see what happens. I can’t say at the minute.
“I can only concentrate on the games here, getting the club up the table and then we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
The quest for regular football has taken Bannan on four other loan spells in his career but with the European Championships on the horizon next summer, he may well relish the chance of laying down some roots.
The Scotland international has remained a firm favourite of Tartan Army boss Gordon Strachan and provided a timely spark in last week’s 6-1 home win against Gibraltar with a second-half appearance off the bench.
That win leaves Scotland third in their group, level on points with Germany and one behind unbeaten Poland, at the halfway stage.
“It’s a good group – it’s probably one of the hardest groups looking at them,” Bannan reflected in Wanderers' programme.
“Ours is really competitive with all the rivalries and added context too.
“Anyone can beat anyone on their day, though, as teams have already shown and we’ve played a lot of hard games so far.
“We travelled to Poland and got a point, it should have been three, while we lost away at Germany when we should have got something there.
“It was tough against them but it was unbelievable playing against the world champions.
“To think they were the best in the world at the time and we took them so close – it was a great achievement. It makes you want more because you think you can beat them.
“It was great to be out there, pitting ourselves against the best, and seeing how far off them we are.
“We also beat Ireland at home which was a big game for us because you have to make home advantage count, especially against teams which are going to be in and around you, before beating Gibraltar last week.
“Things are looking good. Hopefully we can qualify for the European Championships – that would be unbelievable and one of the greatest achievements of my career.”
Bannan freely admits his decision to leave Palace on loan was partially motivated by his desire to remain within the international set-up, in what is proving a competitive squad.
The draw of Lennon – a player he admired from afar during his youth days at Celtic – was another factor in making the move to the North West.
“He [Lennon] was a big influence in me going to Bolton,” he said. “I spoke to Joe Ledley and Stiliyan Petrov – guys who have worked under him and know him. They had good things to say and I was keen to go and work under him.
“He was at Celtic when I was there as a youngster but we never met. He was a player I liked but Petrov was the one I looked up to as he was more attacking. When you are younger, you like guys who are scoring goals.
“I looked up to all those players in that team but Petrov was the main one. Protecting my Scotland place was also a big factor in the move to Bolton.
"Everyone can see there is a lot of competition just now. There are so many Scottish players on fire and the gaffer has probably left a lot of boys out who will be unhappy and could warrant a place in the team. I’m just happy that I am playing now and showing people that I’m still here and ready to play.”
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A rare highlight in the dull draw against Blackpool and a driving force behind a stunning second half at Cardiff, the Scot is certainly closing the final act of the season with some strong performances.
But Whites fans are desperate to know if he will make his final bow against Birmingham on May 2, or whether the dynamic midfielder will be back for an encore next season.
Neil Lennon has praised Bannan highly in the last two games, suggesting the thought of signing the 25-year-old permanently has crossed his mind.
Any deal, however, is likely to rest on the goodwill at Crystal Palace – now clear of relegation trouble and looking to invest in Alan Pardew’s own transfer targets this summer.
Bannan is keeping his head down for now, revelling in regular football which was somewhat of a rarity at Selhurst Park under Neil Warnock, Tony Pulis and now Pardew.
“I came here to play games and I’ve played a lot in the last couple of months and I am really enjoying it,” he said.
“Everybody has been brilliant and it’s been great to get that bit of stability and get some regular game-time under my belt.
“Come the end of the year, if I have impressed, then I would like to see what happens. I can’t say at the minute.
“I can only concentrate on the games here, getting the club up the table and then we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
The quest for regular football has taken Bannan on four other loan spells in his career but with the European Championships on the horizon next summer, he may well relish the chance of laying down some roots.
The Scotland international has remained a firm favourite of Tartan Army boss Gordon Strachan and provided a timely spark in last week’s 6-1 home win against Gibraltar with a second-half appearance off the bench.
That win leaves Scotland third in their group, level on points with Germany and one behind unbeaten Poland, at the halfway stage.
“It’s a good group – it’s probably one of the hardest groups looking at them,” Bannan reflected in Wanderers' programme.
“Ours is really competitive with all the rivalries and added context too.
“Anyone can beat anyone on their day, though, as teams have already shown and we’ve played a lot of hard games so far.
“We travelled to Poland and got a point, it should have been three, while we lost away at Germany when we should have got something there.
“It was tough against them but it was unbelievable playing against the world champions.
“To think they were the best in the world at the time and we took them so close – it was a great achievement. It makes you want more because you think you can beat them.
“It was great to be out there, pitting ourselves against the best, and seeing how far off them we are.
“We also beat Ireland at home which was a big game for us because you have to make home advantage count, especially against teams which are going to be in and around you, before beating Gibraltar last week.
“Things are looking good. Hopefully we can qualify for the European Championships – that would be unbelievable and one of the greatest achievements of my career.”
Bannan freely admits his decision to leave Palace on loan was partially motivated by his desire to remain within the international set-up, in what is proving a competitive squad.
The draw of Lennon – a player he admired from afar during his youth days at Celtic – was another factor in making the move to the North West.
“He [Lennon] was a big influence in me going to Bolton,” he said. “I spoke to Joe Ledley and Stiliyan Petrov – guys who have worked under him and know him. They had good things to say and I was keen to go and work under him.
“He was at Celtic when I was there as a youngster but we never met. He was a player I liked but Petrov was the one I looked up to as he was more attacking. When you are younger, you like guys who are scoring goals.
“I looked up to all those players in that team but Petrov was the main one. Protecting my Scotland place was also a big factor in the move to Bolton.
"Everyone can see there is a lot of competition just now. There are so many Scottish players on fire and the gaffer has probably left a lot of boys out who will be unhappy and could warrant a place in the team. I’m just happy that I am playing now and showing people that I’m still here and ready to play.”
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whenever someone has a bad game and our players vacillate between hero and zero from week to week.