Blades’ McGinty delighted to adopt Evra role

The Republic of Ireland Under-21s international has spent the last few years watching the likes of Patrice Evra and Rafael rampage down the flanks during training sessions and matches.

After being handed his Blades debut in the 1-1 draw with Colchester last Saturday, the 20-year-old is relishing being given the opportunity to play with similar adventure under David Weir.

McGinty said: “Coming from Manchester United, all we worked towards was going forward, trying to get up and down the wing and getting in as many crosses as you could.

“You want to be around players like Evra, Rafael and Alexander Buttner in training. I’ve learnt a lot from them.

“I try and play as high as I can, try and get up and down the pitch, that’s my game and I believe I do it quite well.

“I definitely take a lot from my four years at Man United and I’ll take it into my time here.

“Patrice Evra played the role that David (Weir) is wanting me to play here, so I know the role and I’m looking forward to making it my own. First and foremost, though, the job is to defend.

“I went to Man Unted as a centre-half, but they moved me to left-back to make me more of a ball player. In time, when I grow and get bigger and older, I probably will move back to centre-half, but I’ve really improved on the ball and defending-wise by playing against tricky wingers.”

Despite only turning 20 last week, McGinty has accumulated plenty of experience from his time at Old Trafford, and in various loan spells over the last few seasons.

Having been picked up by the Blades on his release in the summer, he is now hoping to benefit from playing games regularly.

“It’s not as if I’ve been thrown into League One football, I do have quite a bit of experience and I can hold my own at this level,” he said. “By coming to League One you’re playing in front of fans, playing in proper men’s football is an experience you cannot buy, so for this stage of my career, this is exactly the right thing for me.

“As a team, we are a work in progress, we will get there and I believe we will do really well this season.”

Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Yorkshire rivals Bradford, Weir says there will not be any activity in the transfer market, though he continues to look to strengthen.

“Some areas need strengthening more than others,” said Weir. “It’s not a matter of numbers and positions – it’s a matter of who we can get.”