Leicester City v Sheffield United - Ben Osborn seizing his moment for the Blades

Ben Osborn is confident of victory ahead of Sheffield United’s Premier League trip to Leicester City this evening – and he still cannot completely get his head around that fact.

If the season had gone to script, the over-riding feeling would be of nervousness unless like Norwich City, who finished above the Blades last season, they had already been relegated. Instead, the stakes both sides are playing for in the East Midlands at 6pm tonight is European football – Champions League for the Foxes, Europa League for their visitors.

Osborn only made his first Premier League start at the start of the month but he is already getting used to occasions like this. His four games have come against Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea – all teams with European ambitions. The Blades have dropped just two points against those sides.

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“It doesn’t feel natural going into a game against Chelsea really confident but we were,” smiles the midfielder.

Out of the shadows: Ben Osborn playing against Chelsea on Saturday, one of the many European-qualification hopefuls the summer signing has impressed for. (Picture: SportImage)Out of the shadows: Ben Osborn playing against Chelsea on Saturday, one of the many European-qualification hopefuls the summer signing has impressed for. (Picture: SportImage)
Out of the shadows: Ben Osborn playing against Chelsea on Saturday, one of the many European-qualification hopefuls the summer signing has impressed for. (Picture: SportImage)

They are not just words, either, he is playing with a real belief too, having had a hand in two goals in Saturday’s 3-0 win over third-placed Chelsea.

John Fleck is expected to return to the squad after injury but his place in the XI is not a foregone conclusion.

Such confidence is largely forged on the training ground.

“The way the gaffer (manager Chris Wilder) and Knilly (assistant manager Alan Knill) dissect the game and set up our gameplan, you go into games thinking, ‘I fancy it today, everyone’s going to be at it,’” explains Osborn, who joined from Nottingham Forest last summer.

Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) vies with Reece James of Chelsea (Picture: Andrew Yates/Sportimage)Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) vies with Reece James of Chelsea (Picture: Andrew Yates/Sportimage)
Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) vies with Reece James of Chelsea (Picture: Andrew Yates/Sportimage)
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“We’re possibly going to work harder than the opposition and win the battles and if we find that quality we have, it’ll be difficult for them.

“I fancied us against Chelsea and at the back of my mind I was thinking, ‘Come on, it’s Chelsea!’

“It doesn’t feel natural to be confident but maybe that’s because I haven’t been in the team for long.

“If you spoke to any of the players we’ve come up against I’m sure if they were being honest they’d say we’re a tough team to play against, not just physically but with our shape our positions and the overloads. I’ve been on the receiving end of it a couple of times (playing against Sheffield United) and it’s not nice.”

Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) battle with Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers (Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage)Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) battle with Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers (Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage)
Ben Osborn of Sheffield Utd (R) battle with Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers (Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage)
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Featuring only as an occasional substitute to enable the first-team players to be rested in cup competitions did test Osborn’s belief, he admits.

“There are times when you have battles with confidence when you’re not playing,” he says. “You start to doubt if you are good enough.

“I don’t think spending such a long time on the sidelines made me more confident (in the system) but it gave me even more hunger.

“Having an FA Cup run helped with a few games after Christmas and a few minutes here and there. Just before lockdown Enda (Stevens) got injured I was in line to play (at left wing-back) but the season then got halted.

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“I went into lockdown with a bit of confidence, even though it has been a difficult season without many minutes, and I wanted to come back as fit as I could to give me a fighting chance because I knew we had a fixture pile-up and it was a chance to play.

“When I joined I knew it’d be hard to break into the team but I didn’t expect the lads to be this good to be honest. It was difficult but when the lads were flying high, it was a pleasure to be a part of.

“If the lads were performing badly I could maybe have had a few more conversations with the gaffer about why he wasn’t picking me but if I was a manager, I wouldn’t drop them.

“Flecky’s been my player of the year this season but all I can do is give as much as I can to make it a difficult decision.”

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Osborn is by no means alone in being made to wait for his chance at Bramall Lane. Big-money striker Oli McBurnie began the season on the bench and it was late October before Lys Mousset was handed a start. January signing Jack Robinson had to wait until after the lockdown.

“The gaffer knows it’s tough when you don’t play, everyone wants to play but you can’t feel sorry for yourselves, they do extra work to make sure you’re not drifting,” explains Osborn. “You do more training than the lads who are playing to maintain fitness so even though it can be frustrating and hard work when you’re not on the pitch, you will be physically ready to step in when needed.”

There is also the task of learning a way of playing which is as unusual as it is effective.

“There’s quite a lot on the training ground and then watching the games,” says Osborn. “You do pick it up but you learn more when you’re playing.

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“It’s been a slice of luck to get a run out in midfield because of injuries, rather than at wing-back. I always felt central midfield was my best position.”

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