Sheffield United preparing to erase memories of last trip to Aston Villa

It is worn by his players as a badge of honour.

Emphatic answers in last year’s promotion campaign to anyone who had the temerity – or stupidity – to suggest that they were feeling the heat after conceding three late goals from a seemingly unassailable position at Aston Villa or after dropping two points at the death in a late-season home game with Millwall were magnificently delivered.

After that crazy 3-3 draw at Villa Park in February, 2019, history shows that the Blades won six of their next seven matches in a splendid undefeated run, taking 19 points from a possible 21.

You could have heard a pin drop at Bramall Lane after Jake Cooper’s 90th-minute equaliser for Millwall in a 1-1 draw at the height of what Sir Alex Ferguson refers to as ‘squeaky bum time’ last April – with big promotion rivals Leeds United further applying the pressure by way of a keynote victory following the final whistle of the Blades’ game.

United’s riposte was resounding by way of three successive victories without conceding a goal.

The final win in the sequence ended, of course, in promotion after a 2-0 win over Ipswich on April 27, 2019.

This is a squad of indomitable players who can be trusted to watch each other’s backs, hold their nerve and handle adversity and difficult situations.

As they must do now on football’s resumption when the emotional fuel provided by thousands of fervent and partisan spectators – more especially at Bramall Lane which has earned plaudits for its raucous atmosphere similar to the way in which the ‘old school’ Selhurst Park was feted a few years back – will be missing.

It will represent a mentality test for all Premier League players and show which teams are truly playing for each other as well as the supporters who will not be there to prop them up.

Sheffield United’s togetherness is legion. These are a group of individuals who are mates and not just work colleagues.

Several regularly go out for a coffee together to chew the fat and are likely to remain friends long after their playing days.

It is a group of players who will reconvene for anniversary dinners in a couple of decades time to trade on stories. A squad rich in solid, proper and talented senior professionals who are cherishing the most special time of their careers.

Football’s hiatus due to Covid-19 does not change that.

The club’s outstanding position on two fronts – in with a strong chance of qualifying for Europe and also reaching Wembley in the FA Cup – may be the singularly obvious reason as to why United were always eager to finish the 2019-20 season.

But you suspect that even if Wilder’s side had been in a relegation fight as opposed to a top-six battle, the noises from within the club would have been uniformly keen to play on.

In contrast to some clubs, there has been a refreshing lack of negativity and pessimism at football’s restart.

“The lads would get back out there tomorrow if they had the chance,” has been Wilder’s mantra all along.

To a man, United’s players have echoed their manager. In truth, Wilder would not have expected anything less – if there is one thing you know that he will not tolerate, it is a blame culture.

On paper, the Blades’ itinerary is tough, but that is probably just the way they like it.

It starts off with a trip to Villa next Wednesday on a night when victory would propel the seventh-placed Blades into fifth spot above Manchester United.

Erasing memories of that painful finale on the club’s last visit to the Midlands venue will be an added motivation – even if those who played that night will be too professional to say so.

Not one to miss a trick, Wilder will be reminding those players of that in the inner sanctum of the away dressing room, nevertheless.

Following that, the Blades call in at St James’ Park on June 21 and three days later, Old Trafford beckons when the Blades face a direct rival and will plainly not be interested in autograph hunting or admiring the decor.

The fact that the Blades have proved wonderfully consistent on the road in terms of performance levels and continuity in selection – only Liverpool have conceded fewer away goals – will see them head to three of the most feted football cathedrals in the country with justifiable belief, enthusiasm and intent’.

Famous names also frequent the scene during July, when Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves, Chelsea and Everton visit S2, while Arsenal will call in for an eagerly-anticipated FA Cup quarter-final at the end of this month on June 28.

When the fixtures came out almost a year ago, there was an air of trepidation among Unitedites when looking at the marquee list of late-season visitors to Bramall Lane – as they justifiably envisaged their heroes to be scrambling around for survival points.

How times have changed.

A squad of players who train as they play, with daily sessions at Shirecliffe tailored to recreate the intensity of a match-day situation, there should be no rust prevalent when the Blades line up in Birmingham next week.

Few sides, physically and mentally, will be ready for the resumption as much as Sheffield United will be.

Take that as read.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor