Sheffield United v Doncaster Rovers: Wilson is wary of threat of Rovers’ Paynter

The Sheffield United manager was in change of Swindon Town when 28-year-old Paynter’s goals helped them reach the League One play-off final.

Forty five goals in 122 appearances earned the striker a move to Leeds United taking over the coveted No 9 shirt from Jermaine Beckford.

But a broken leg in pre-season was the start of an unhappy time at Elland Road and after a loan move to Brighton, he signed a two-year deal with Dean Saunders’s side in the summer.

Liverpool-born Paynter opened his Rovers account at the start of the month in a 2-1 defeat at Yeovil, but is pushing for a recall tonight after missing Saturday’s win at Colchester with a groin strain.

Wilson says if Paynter can stay fit, there is no better striker in League One.

“A fit Billy Paynter is as good as anybody in this division,” said Wilson. “He had a purple patch at Swindon, scoring plenty of goals which got us to the play-off final.

“We were very unfortunate but he got a good move off the back of it to Leeds. I don’t think he has matched the heights that he did before, for one reason or another, but playing regularly will only help.

“I am not too sure if he will play (tonight), but he is a real handful. He is strong, powerful and can get a goal, there’s no doubt about that. He gets in good areas, brings other players into the game and he will be a big handful if he plays (tonight).

“Breaking his leg (after joining Leeds) was a major blow for the boy because his confidence was sky-high then. Obviously, as things transpired, they brought other players in and he didn’t get the opportunities that he would have liked.

“But he will grasp the opportunity of playing now with both hands. I know Billy well, he’s a great lad, good off the park too and will fit in very well at Doncaster.

“We know the strengths and weaknesses of most people in the league. The difficulty is not spotting it, it’s stopping it. It’s the quality of players. Everybody know what players at Arsenal and Manchester United can do, but at times you can’t stop them.”

The Blades, who have two in-form strikers of their own in Nick Blackman and John Cofie, are unbeaten so far this season but have drawn four of their six League One matches. They sit a point better off than Rovers, who have collected three wins from their opening five games, and Wilson expects a typical derby atmosphere tonight.

“Doncaster have had a very similar start to ourselves,” observed Wilson. “They have had a few results which they feel should have gone their way, which haven’t, and opportunities in games where they should have scored or gave sloppy goals away.

“It promises to be a decent game. They have still got the after effects of relegation last year; it’s that which you have to overcome quickly to get yourself up and running again and it looks like they are starting to do that.

“They had a good result at the weekend at Colchester so they will be quite buoyant coming to us.

“I don’t think for one minute they will come to defend. For most of their games I have seen this season they have been quite offensive, very expansive in the way they want to play. I don’t see that changing.

“It promises to be a very tough game, a good game, two good sides going head-to-head.”

United were forced to field a makeshift midfield in the 1-1 draw with Bury on Saturday, with Ryan Flynn and Michael Doyle serving three-match bans.

That meant on-loan Paul Gallagher slotting into the left side of midfield, while right-back Darryl Westlake did well after being pushed into central midfield.

Wilson said: “We lost a bit of balance, no doubt about it. Everybody understands exactly what Michael Doyle gives us in the team now, when he’s not there. He’s very calm, calculated but he’s the cement in the team. We do miss him, there’s no doubt about it.

“He’s a very experienced player and I think him and Kevin (McDonald) have a very good relationship together in the centre of midfield. But there are going to be times when you need to play without your key players and Saturday was a time that we had to do that.

“Darryl came in and did fairly well for the first 45 minutes, with David McAllister it’s possibly his better position inside anyway, but you still miss that experience.

“Playing midfield was very much an unaccustomed position for Darryl. I think he has played reserve games there at a younger age, but it doesn’t do any harm to play different positions.

“I will use Manchester United as a prime example, some of their players play in every position bar goalkeeper to help them understand the game.”

Flynn and Doyle complete their suspensions on Saturday after the trip to Yeovil, and Wilson accepts he will not be bringing in any further loan players after the arrival of Gallagher from Leicester City last week.

“We would always like to bring other people in but I think the balance of the team is paramount,” he said. “With Paul coming into that area now, who can play striker or the two wide areas, I am not looking at this moment in time to bring anybody in. We need to use what we have got and give everybody an opportunity.”

Last time: Sheffield United 2 Doncaster Rovers 2, Championship, January 3 2011.

Last six games: Blades WDDWDD Rovers WWLWLW.

Referee: M Heywood (Cheshire).