Sheffield United are '˜still in the race' '“ Nigel Adkins

The Blades, pre-season favourites for the League One title, have endured a frustrating campaign and head into Easter six points adrift of neighbours Barnsley in sixth place.

With just nine games remaining, United have little margin for error if a fourth tilt at the play-offs in five years is to be secured.

The odds are firmly against the South Yorkshire club, but Adkins has experience of prevailing in even more unlikely circumstances when he led Bangor City to the League of Wales title in 1993-94.

Main rivals Inter Cardiff had already completed their campaign when Bangor took on Haverfordwest County in their penultimate fixture knowing only a six-goal triumph or better would be enough to leave Adkins’s men needing just a draw from their final day trip to Porthmadog.

Bangor did it in style, romping to a 9-0 victory over Haverfordwest before going on to land the first of back-to-back championships under Adkins a few days later. That success in his first job is why the 51-year-old refuses to give up on the Blades despite recent stumbles.

“That season was a big turnaround late on,” said Adkins to The Yorkshire Post. “We were way behind on goal difference going into that Haverfordwest game. What a night that was.

“There was an inquest. People asking, ‘How can a team win 9-0?’ But the game was live on TV so people had seen it and we were brilliant. After that, all we needed was a draw.

“It showed the value of believing and keeping going. That is why we have to keep believing and why we must have that grit about ourselves.

“That was the first time Bangor had won the League of Wales. The following year, no one could touch us.

“I haven’t told the players here at Sheffield United about it. We aren’t at that stage yet. We just have to focus on the next game at the moment. Go beat Crewe (on Friday). That is our first job.”

After hosting second-bottom Alexandra on Good Friday, United must wait until Wednesday night to play their second game of the holiday double-header thanks to Sky TV selecting the trip to Southend United for live transmission.

It is far from ideal for a team trying to make up lost ground, with Adkins admitting that by 5pm on Monday the gap between his men and that all-important sixth place could have grown even wider.

What could yet boost the Blades’ hopes, though, is a fixture list that, while on paper looks tough, does offer opportunity to inflict damage on the promotion bids of several rivals.

The trip to Roots Hall is the first of five meetings with teams sitting above Adkins’s men in the table right now, the others being Coventry, Barnsley, Gillingham and Walsall.

“It is great to have teams above us still to play,” said the Blades’ chief, who has three promotion successes from League One on his CV.

“Having been there before, there will be some very interesting results. Teams will lose games they are expected to win and vice versa.

“We are in there. There are several teams in and around us. The fact is we have to go and win games of football. If we were higher in the division, we would still need to win games of football.

“If we can put ourselves in a position where momentum is right then that is a big thing. We are in the race. But it is important we win on Friday.

“We can’t hide away from that. There probably might be a case of the gap getting bigger because teams play on Monday, while we have to wait until Wednesday.

“But we can’t help that. We just have to think about winning the next game, spending all our energy on that. When that is done, learn the lessons from it and then go win the next game.

“The league table will be the league table. We just have to keep going all the way.”

United, meanwhile, have announced that the cost of season tickets for 2016-17 will be reduced by 10 per cent.

Joint owners Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have made the move in response to what has, to date, been a desperately disappointing campaign.

Adult prices will start at £288 in the Kop, while junior season tickets start at £36 and senior citizens £198.

“We are not giving up on promotion but, at the same time, all here at the club recognise it has been a difficult season,” said McCabe as the club launched a ‘United Reunited’ campaign.

“The price reduction of 10 per cent will apply whether we are in the Championship or League One.”

Alex Baptiste will miss the home clash with Crewe, though Adkins was at pains yesterday to stress that the loanee defender’s hamstring strain is not as bad as first feared. David Edgar is also absent on international duty.