Flitcroft is pledging that Reds will fight all the way

It is judgment day for the Oakwell outfit with their six-season Championship tenure on the line.

But whatever happens, the Reds’ chief is secure in the knowledge that his players will have given everything, having provided every last drop of commitment since he was handed the seemingly thankless task of rescuing the club from the drop when they looked down and out in January.

Flitcroft, mindful that only a victory at the John Smith’s Stadium will guarantee his side’s safety – they would also survive if they draw and Peterborough lose at Crystal Palace – said: “If we go down, we will go down fighting. One thing I have said to the players from day one is that we will fight to the end to have an opportuinity to stay in the league.

“We are really desperate to and the players and me have made a point of it and the fans also deserve to be Championship fans. They have been electric and part of this journey and there has been a real team unity.

“I said from day one, I would give it my best shot and that is what my dad taught me. If you do that, no one can ask any more of you. The staff and the players have also done that.

“This group of players set their stands when we were fighting to get the job. That has been the key; they fought hard and wanted us to get the job and we did.

“They set the highest standard possible in the time when I got the interim job. And since then, I have not let them drop their standards beneath it. They have been a credit to this football club.

“You have got to look to your soul and think who you are doing things for, whatever job you are in. The players have got families and fans who can be proud of them and we have got to make sure we do them proud again.”

Mindful that players and club staff could lose their jobs amid the financial fall-out of relegation, Flitcroft says he will personally carry that burden if the Reds go down this afternoon.

He added: “If we go down, it is on my shoulders and people could lose their jobs, which is something I am not sleeping too easy with, whether it’s staff, admin staff, certain people and players.

“I have found it difficult all week to comprehend that. But from an emotional point of view after the game on Saturday, it is something I might have to deal with. That is the cold light of relegation; people’s jobs are at stake, no doubt about that. Including my own.

“I will carry it and take it on the chin.”

Admitting he wants both Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday to also be smiling at the end of ‘Survival Saturday’, Flitcroft added: “I hope we and Huddersfield stay in the Championship and Sheffield Wednesday, too.

“I am made up Doncaster went up and hope Sheffield United do, too. If it is a league full of Yorkshire and northern teams next season, the fans benefit.

“To be involved in a Yorkshire and northern league next season is something that really excites me. It will help fans’ lives and it could be an incredible season next time.”