Momentum building for Clough’s battling Blades

WHEN it comes to gathering momentum, Sheffield United’s reputation precedes them.
Ryan Flynn nets against Crewe.Ryan Flynn nets against Crewe.
Ryan Flynn nets against Crewe.

Games came with alacrity in league and cup for the Blades in an epic second half of last season, which saw Nigel Clough’s troops make light of a fixture bottleneck to hit the fast lane.

Now the opportunity presents itself to put the foot on the accelerator again.

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Tuesday’s 2-0 FA Cup win over visiting Crewe has triggered a run of five successive home games for the Blades – with League One matches against Oldham, Notts County and MK Dons and a cup tie with Plymouth following on.

Six of their next seven outings are at S2, where United boasted a 12-match unbeaten run from mid November to March 22 last term.

As well as turning their home into a fortress, the Blades also hit overdrive in a club record 10 successive victories in league and cup from February 4 to March 12.

It was a time when Clough’s side also entered the record books for chalking up a record eight successive league clean sheets, beating the statistics set by John Harris’s promotion class of 1970-71 in securing a 0-0 draw at Preston on March 17 amid a crammed schedule.

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So don’t think fixture pile-ups are something the Blades are daunted by, they positively embrace it.

United’s progress in the League Cup and the rescheduling of the MK Dons fixture after being called off due to international call-ups means they will have fitted in 11 games between November 12 and the end of this year. Possibly 12 if their FA Cup tie with Plymouth goes to a replay.

Clough, for one, isn’t unduly worried.

He said: “If we are 1-0 down with five minutes to go (against Plymouth), we will take a replay!”

On coping with a heavy schedule, as the workaholic Blades so diligently did in the second-half of last season, he added: “We hope so. It’s a bit more difficult when it is this early in the season in November to December.

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“We know in the last couple of months of the season, you can just say to the lads: ‘Come on we have just got to concentrate.’ Now, we have got to do a bit of rotating.

“We knew we had a very tough start to the season. But we are in the top six and in two of the big cups.

“We want to keep that momentum going and we can slowly feel it building and getting a couple of players back such as (Marc) McNulty and (Michael) Higdon, even if we don’t get a striker in, will help it immensely.”

If recent signs are anything to go by, a number of leading lights in the Blades’ turbo-charged run in the second half of 2014-15 are stepping up to the plate again.

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Clough name-checked Stefan Scougall after the Crewe game and feels he is getting back to his best, while Mark Howard and Jamie Murphy provided key contributions against Alex and Doncaster Rovers.

Ryan Flynn also put his hand up in hitting two goals against Crewe, with relatively recent additions such as Chris Basham also taking plenty of personal responsibility of late.

All successful sides require character and durability, as the signs are starting to look good again on that count for the Blades, who have recorded six shut-outs in their last nine matches.

Edinburgh-born Flynn, whose brace helped ease the pain of Scotland’s loss to England, said: “We ended the season so well and didn’t start this one so well.

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“But there’s that bedding-in period as it’s a long, long season. We are not far away and while some will be disappointed where we are, we just keep buckling down and doing the hard work.

“We have been very consistent for a few weeks now and with these home games coming up, that’s when you have to keep pushing on and not letting up.

“The Doncaster game showed our character. It was a derby and we went down to 10 men in difficult circumstances. The ability that Murph showed to get a wonderful goal and then the team character gets you the result.”

Tuesday’s cup win was notable for four Blades teenagers being on the bench in Harrison McGahey, Diego De Girolamo, Otis Khan and Ben Whiteman, with the latter coming on for his debut late on and likened to a ‘young Michael Carrick’ by his manager.

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In the long-term picture, it’s a healthy development as Clough is the first to acknowledge, while making no apologies for not finding room for experienced pros Chris Porter, Neill Collins and Stephen McGinn on the bench.

Clough, who also handed a start to 17-year-old midfielder Louis Reed, said: “With Ports, Collo and Stephen McGinn, we couldn’t gain anything by putting them on the bench against Crewe.

“It’s great for the academy. When we put them on at Derby, it was great and Darren Wassell, our academy manager, said it was our best recruit.”

“He (Whiteman) is a good solid midfielder who is learning the game. And we just like him, he’s got a good attitude and is a good passer of the ball.

“He reminds you of a very young Michael Carrick. he’s very upright when he gets on the ball and he’s a proper midfield player.”