Kirkland played for both Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool.
Chris Kirkland has told Radio City Talk that Sheffield Wednesday is a Premier League club.
Kirkland played 90 times during a three-year stint at Hillsborough, but left in the summer of 2015 – ahead of the Owls’ best season yet since dropping out of the top flight at the turn of the century.
Despite this, the now retired goalkeeper retains fond memories of his spell in Sheffield, and, evidently, has continued to look out for his old side’s results.
“It should be a Premier League club,” Kirkland said. “It was so unfortunate they didn’t get up last year, I was watching that.”
Before Wednesday, Kirkland played Premier League football for Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool, who lifted the Champions League while he was on the books.
However, the 35-year-old says that Carlos Carvalhal’s side – whose goalkeeper coach Andy Rhodes he credits with reviving his career – are up there with the Reds as the biggest club he played for.
“Sheffield Wednesday is like Liverpool, it’s a huge, huge club,” Kirkland added. “The two years I was there I managed to get back to some decent form, because I’d gotten into a rut at Wigan. I played for the first four years but the last two, when Roberto (Martinez) came in, I didn’t really play under him. And you know Sheffield Wednesday fans, they’re like Liverpool fans, they’re unbelievable.
He added: “Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool are by far two of the biggest clubs I’ve played for. I can’t speak highly enough of Andy Rhodes. When I went there I was on a big downer, everyone was doubting me. He said to me ‘come here, I’ll get you back (to form)’ and he did.”
After leaving Hillsborough, Kirkland spent a season with the Owls’ Championship rivals Preston North End before signing for Bury this summer.
However, little over a month after his arrival at Gigg Lane, the once-capped England goalkeeper decided to call time on his career.
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