Clough hoping to celebrate milestone with Wolves win

Back on that autumnal week-day of October 23, the prospect of joyous days at Bramall Lane in front of bumper crowds, with renditions of the Greasy Chip Butty song reverberating around all corners of that famous old ground would have seemed a world away.

Both for Clough and his new audience, with the Blades too busy fighting relegation fires to be consumed with nostalgia.

When Clough spoke about realising the potential of that grand old club fallen on hard times and getting the red footballing heart of Sheffield beating again, most Unitedites, while drinking in the comments of their new manager, were savvy enough to automatically associate it with meaning next season by definition.

Definitely not this one.

Back in October, the thought of the Blades being able to celebrate their 125th anniversary this Saturday, totally free of any inhibitions and fears regarding their current League One status, seemed a fair bit in the distance.

Most supporters probably envisaged toasting the club’s party moment against Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 22 with half a shandy as opposed to a glass of something sparkling.

For Clough to see the very best of the Blades already with his tenure having only spanned the equivalent of a few pages is remarkable in itself, with the Lane audience, now devoid of any relegation worries and with their Wembley invites in the post, able to party with a bit of abandon.

Just as they did in the thrilling FA Cup victories over Nottingham Forest and Charlton, alongside glorious away-days at Craven Cottage and Villa Park, with Saturday’s clash bringing with it the promise of another noteworthy occasion in the club’s season and not just its long history.

Clough’s business mantra may ensure his troops will not get sidetracked by talk of parties as opposed to points, but as someone who has had the game in his blood from a young age and seen his father breathe new life into the likes of Derby County and Nottingham Forest in his managerial career, he is entitled to a smidgeon of pride.

Clough said: “Everything which has happened since we have arrived has just reinforced what we thought from the outside – what a great club this is with the history and support.

“When you see Bramall Lane nearly full as it was in the cup quarter-final, it brings it home of the size of the club.

“You are aware from the outside, but it feels so much more special when you are on the inside.”

On the club’s special day on Saturday, Clough, whose side had just nine points when he took over and are now within two points of a half-century and are through to the FA Cup semi-finals, added: “It’s lovely to be part of such a special anniversary, especially going into it on the back of the form that we have been on.

“Sometimes, when you get these anniversaries and you are in the midst of a bad run of form or the club is struggling, they don’t seem as special.

“But we have the league leaders in town in Wolves and a good crowd and are on the back of a good unbeaten run, so we have a lot to look forward to.

“When there’s an atmosphere of 25 to 30,000 and it is rocking, it also helps when you try and recruit players. Word also gets around and what this run can also do with the semi-final is help attract us players next season.

If there’s one thing that should not intimidate the Blades, it’s the sight of another expectant and large Lane crowd, with Clough’s side having risen to that challenge consummately so far in 2014.

Incentives aren’t hard to find this weekend, with the Blades chasing a seventh straight home win and ninth successive shut-out in the league, with at least two members of the legendary defensive unit of 1970-71 whose clean-sheet league record which the present-day Blades broke – in goalkeeper John Hope and Scottish defender Eddie Colquhoun -–in attendance alongside a host of feted ex-players.

Colquhoun and Hope formed two-fifths of a back five that also included Ted Hemsley, Len Badger and John Flynn, with many other Blades legends descending on S2 on Saturday in the hope of not just sampling an auspicious day in the club’s history, but also witnessing a fitting home win.

Clough said: “When we have had big crowds and atmospheres in the last two or three months, we have dealt with it very well and come out with a positive result. We hope it will be no different on Saturday.

“If you strip it all back, we are still playing the top of the league and it will be a good test on the pitch. We said Preston and Wolves would be a good measure of how far we have come.

“We don’t want to lose sight of what is the most important thing of the weekend, getting back to winning ways.”