Sheffield United v Plymouth Argyle: Michael Cooper must 'shut out all the noise' to maintain staggering sequence

This afternoon, he must shut out the noise on a special occasion in his burgeoning career, according to his manager.

The Devonian faces Plymouth Argyle, the club where he was on the books for 15 years - having joined the Pilgrims’ academy at the age of 11 in 2009.

Argyle will be backed by over 1,000 fans in the away end and Cooper, who left the south-west in mid-August, will be seeking to preserve his astonishing Bramall Lane record in front of them.

In eight home appearances for the Blades, the Exeter-born custodian, who turned down the chance to sign a new contract which would have made him Argyle’s highest paid player ever last summer, has yet to concede a goal.

It amounts in total to a staggering 763 minutes - or 12 hours, 43 minutes to be precise.

While Cooper’s calm demeanour and unflappable mentality has proved to be among the stand-out qualities of a player who is making a very strong case to be labelled as the best goalkeeper in the division, he will receive his biggest test so far today. Certainly on an emotional level.

Manager Chris Wilder said: "There’s always that connection that you can’t do anything about, isn’t there.

"It’s going to be a big day for Michael. But he’s got to shut out all the noise and produce that consistent performance that he has done.

"With the character he is, he doesn't get flustered or overwhelmed by anything. It’s just another day at the office for him.

"I don’t know what the reaction of the Plymouth fans will be. I think from his point of view, he did what he needed to do for his career and I think he’s justified in making that move and that’s no disrespect to anybody at Plymouth Argyle.

"We’re delighted we’ve got a really talented young goalkeeper that has contributed to Plymouth's success over the last two or three years."

The theory that the best keepers are those who can cast aside lengthy periods of inactivity to produce stellar contributions to keep their goal intact certainly holds water, given the evidence of Cooper’s time at the club so far.

He is level-pegging in the Championship’s Golden Glove award stakes with Burnley rival James Trafford, with both having kept 12 clean sheets.

Cooper’s tally has arrived in 18 matches, while Trafford’s total has been registered in 19 games.

Leeds United’s Illan Meslier is one behind with 11 shut-outs in a fascinating subplot to the automatic promotion battle.

Cooper’s desire to keep his proud record of never conceding at Bramall Lane has been reinforced by events in the club’s last two home games.

Both were occasions when he had little to do, but what he did, he performed superbly, most notably with his penalty save against Sunderland on November 29.

Should the Blades return to the Premier League in May, moments like that are likely to be remembered on any end-of-season highlights reel for sure.

It most definitely wouldn’t be lost on Wilder, whose decision to move for Cooper looks shrewder by the week.

For the Blades chief, it is also rewinding the clock to another feted name.

Wilder added: "The key thing for me was the penalty save against Sunderland and a couple of the big saves he’s had to make when needed.

"It’s reminiscent of Dean Henderson when he was here and I always talk about it. It’s that ‘big moment’"