Sheffield United to lean on ‘level-headed boys who have been around the block’

The Blades will, no doubt, be tuning in tonight as Leeds United travel to Preston North End hoping to wrestle back possession of second place.

Only victory for the men from Elland Road will be enough, and even then Chris Wilder’s United will be able to reclaim the second automatic slot when tackling Birmingham City tomorrow night.

“There are 18 points to play for and anything can happen,” said McGoldrick. “There will be ups and downs. Will it change again? No-one knows. It might do that right through to the end of the season.”

Possession of second place has changed hands five times in the past month, underlining just how keenly fought the race for the Premier League has become.

McGoldrick added: “There is a lot of experience in the group. We have level-headed boys who have been around the block. A really tight-knit group with a lot of characters.

“The young lads are level-headed, too. They know what needs to be done. We learned a lot from Aston Villa (when United led 3-0 with eight minutes remaining only to have to settle for a point) and how we chucked it away then.

“We did not get excited after (beating) Leeds (on March 16). Losing to Bristol City was then disappointing but we knew there was still a lot of football still to play.”

McGoldrick will be hoping to retain his place up front after netting the winner at the weekend. Wilder added: “Gary (Madine) is back for Wednesday and Scott (Hogan) is wanting to get on the pitch. The two boys at the top of the pitch have been great but they know they have to play well because there are some good boys behind them.”