Sheffield United v Norwich City - George Baldock playing smart at the Lane

George Baldock has a lot to look forward to.
George Baldock.  Picture: Simon Bellis/SportimageGeorge Baldock.  Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
George Baldock. Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

Sheffield United are a home win from Wembley in the FA Cup, and winning their league game in hand would put them in the Champions League places. The wing-back has also been in talks with the Greek FA about playing international football.

The success has been mental as well as physical, undaunted by playing Premier League football in almost all cases for the first time, and by the inevitable setbacks when running into world-class opponents.

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So when Baldock says all he is thinking about is today’s game at home to Norwich City, hard though it is to believe, you suspect he is telling the truth.

“I can honestly say it’s very easy,” he says. “I don’t know whether that’s because of the background I and a lot of the other boys have had but we don’t think too far ahead.

“If we don’t play well in the rest of the season it quickly turns into a disappointing season for Sheffield United.

“The gaffer’s spoken before how we need to be 100 per cent every game in this division to win games. We know if you look too far ahead you can come a percentage off that and results don’t go your way.”

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In all the praise for the Blades this season, there has not been enough for their footballing intelligence. Their unique style is difficult to master, but you would not know it from watching them.

Before Baldock enters the room to talk to the media, manager Chris Wilder jokes how the 26-year-old likes to “cop a deaf ”un” but it shows he does not need his hand holding. Wilder might have been shortlisted as February‘s Premier League manager of the month, but thinking for yourself is important for this heavily-coached generation of players.

“Since the manager’s come to the club we’ve always found a way to win games,” says Baldock. “People are respecting us a little bit more which is nice but then we’ve got to find a way to overcome that.”

The thinking does not stop with the match or training session.

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“You’ve got to dedicate your life to it,” argues Baldock. “When you go home you’ve got to recover right, you’ve got to tick every box to succeed in this league. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position so it would be stupid not to do everything we can to have a successful season.

“I think I used to be clever, but not so much any more! You’ve got to tick up, just like training!

“Concentrating for 90, 95 minutes is the main reason the boys have done so well this year.

“It’s definitely taken some time to get used to it but we’ve done that now and we’re not over-awed by any occasion.”

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Intelligence and adaptability are clearly qualities Sheffield United’s scouts look for. Jack Robinson was signed in January as a centre-back but came on at wing-back on Tuesday; Ben Osborn, who made David McGoldrick’s goal from there, moved into holding midfield, where centre-back Panagiotis Retsos finished the game.

“You can tell on the training ground they’ve all got a really good pedigree and are really technically gifted,” says Baldock of the new signings.

“A big squad is as important as the mentality and the dedication.”

Osborn was a half-time substitute for Enda Stevens – now recovered from a calf injury – against Brighton and Hove Albion.

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“Is it his natural position?” says Wilder. “No, but he takes five or 10 minutes to get up to the pace of the game and then off he goes.”

Even when recovering from a draining 120 minutes at Reading, Baldock was thinking about the next game. He spent Wednesday night on the sofa refuelling, but with Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich on the box, the mind was still active.

“It’s nice to see the opposition you’re playing next,” he says. “It was nice to see patterns of play and things like that.”

The Canaries won the tie, on penalties, to build on a huge victory over Leicester City in the league.

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“They haven’t always had the luck this season but they’re a really exciting team, very attack-minded with a lot of good young players,” says Baldock.

“We definitely won’t be taking them for granted.”

He is too smart for that.