Sheffield United v Portsmouth: Livelihoods on the line for Leanne Cowan and her Bladeswomen in relegation battle

It is a fixture that pits the bottom two clubs in the second tier against one another; Ash Thompson’s Blades are second bottom on six points, Pompey below them in the one relegation spot with just two points from the same number of games.

Demotion out of the national structure into the regionalised third tier would likely force Sheffield United into having discussions this summer about scaling back their full-time programme to a part-time one.

For players like United’s Leanne Cowan, who has experienced the evolution of women’s football from unpaid player to hybrid role juggling jobs to now being a full-time professional, clinging to that status is a huge incentive in United’s push for survival.

“It is something that sits in the back of your mind,” admits Cowan, 29. “When I first started playing football I worked three jobs and didn’t get paid to play. Now it’s actually my job.

“I’ve done the odd season as a hybrid, working and playing, and ultimately that year I broke my foot, so I know it doesn’t really work for me.

“I’ve been in the position where I haven’t been paid and working all hours under the sun to pay my bills to be able to do what I love, so it’s definitely something I don’t take for granted.

“There are a number of experienced players in the team who have been through that, and the younger players do appreciate the position they’re in. Everyone is trying to embrace that.

“It’s not something we want to happen so we will do everything in our power to prevent it.

“But right now we’re not thinking about that, we’re just taking each game as it comes.”

And there’s no game bigger than Portsmouth at home.

“We all understand the situation we’re in, no one’s naive enough to deny how big the game is, but the important thing for us this week has been trying to treat it like a normal game week, just going through our normal prep”, says Cowan.

Sheffield United find themselves in this position largely due to a tumultuous summer in which they had no head coach and only two players.

Ash Thompson came on board and hurriedly assembled a squad, including bringing in Cowan, the former Crystal Palace and London City Lionesses player who suffered a career threatening injury at the former and had fallen down the pecking order reviving her career at the latter.

“I was training on my own for most of pre-season,” recalls Cowan. “I’d known Luke Turner (United coach) for a good few years and he asked me if I’d be interested.

“My plan had been to stay in London, but I thought this might be the time to move away from home and it’s been a breath of fresh air.”

Full-back Cowan has been a calming presence on a squad of mostly younger players.

Performances have been encouraging for United, if not the results, though no Championship rival has really hammered them.

“The first three of four games, we showed we were quite naive with some of the goals we conceded and what we were trying to do but as the season’s gone on we’ve gelled and got to know each other, our performances have got stronger,” says Cowan.

“A lot of the time we are competitive, it’s just been trying to put it together for a complete performance.”

Even the fans appreciate the magnitude of Sunday’s fixture (1pm kick-off); 3,000 tickets sold already, three times the usual attendance, with as many as 4,000 expected with walk-ups on the day.

Cowan - who watched the men’s game with Leeds United last Monday and got goose bumps hearing the Greasy Chip Butty song - wants to tap into some of that atmosphere.

“I remember walking out onto the pitch for my first game and just thinking what a nice place to call home,” she says.

“Even as an away player, it has always been a really good place to come and play football.

“It’s a ground with so much history and tradition, and with fans that are really passionate, and that translates onto the pitch.”