Sheffield United v Tottenham - Return of Spurs highlights amazing journey for Chris Basham and Blades

Remembering where his club has come from is important for centre-back Chris Basham, the only Blade who played in the second leg of 2015’s League Cup semi-final, but it does not make him content with his lot.

Ever since English football went into its coronavirus hibernation in March, the talk from Sheffield United has been about kicking on, not standing still. Viewed only in that context, their league position is a disappointment. They have gone backwards since the resumption, picking up one point and two heavy league defeats.

But the context is essential, and when you understand that, you know a top-half finish for a newly-promoted club is a big achievement, not a let-down.

They did not get to this level by patting themselves on the back, and the pre-covid football showed Chris Wilder’s side are competing with last season’s Champions League finalists – a team led off the field by Jose Mourinho and on it by England captain Harry Kane – on merit, so they want to ensure they do so.

The journey that has taken Basham to this point is scarcely believable, even for him.

“It was a great game,” he says of the 2-2 draw which saw Spurs squeeze through to Wembley 3-2 on aggregate. “They came to us on a snowy night and (Christian) Eriksen scored one of the best goals I have ever seen.

“Little Louis Reed missed a glorious opportunity to take us through, but, yeah, I could not have imagined five or six years ago, going from League One to playing in the Premier League against Tottenham.

“We’re so close in the league together and we want to beat them and overtake them in the Premier League.

“That’s one of the most important things, to realise where we’ve come from. At the start of the season, the aim would have been to stay up. We’ve done that.”

Although Basham is the only Blades survivor of the tie, many of his team-mates have similar stories of being rejected by the big clubs – Newcastle United in his case – and working their way up through the divisions. Although Wilder played top-division football, his managerial career started in non-league.

“I think it helps the club massively,” comments Basham. “It shows the hunger we’ve got.

“I’m relishing trying to bounce back because we’re not used to having setbacks, so it’s up to us to put it right.

“We’ve always had the talent, it’s just maybe taken a little bit longer for us to prove ourselves. The likes of John Fleck, myself, John Egan, Enda Stevens have always been around Premier League clubs. It was just that we had to take that step back to come back up.

“We’re a great group of lads who have stepped up to take this opportunity.”

Basham and co showed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, where they were unlucky to only take a point from Mauricio Pochettino’s last game, that they are not just here to enjoy the ride.

“We don’t want the season to fizzle out, the manager doesn’t want that either,” insists Basham. “He’s not that kind of manager.

“We’re used to winning games and we want to win games. We need to pick up some momentum.

“We’ve done ever so well this season and we don’t want it all to crumble now.”

Last six game: Sheffield United LLLDWW, Tottenham Hotspur WDLDDL

Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Manchester)

Last time: Sheffield United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2, January 28, 2015, League Cup semi-final second leg.