Sheffield United's John Egan shares his experiences of the mindsets needed in a relegation battle

Sheffield United's John Egan has never played in a relegation battle before but that does not mean the centre-back does not have experience of how to beat them.
LEADER: John Egan has captained Sheffield United in the absence of Billy Sharp this seasonLEADER: John Egan has captained Sheffield United in the absence of Billy Sharp this season
LEADER: John Egan has captained Sheffield United in the absence of Billy Sharp this season

Egan spent his formative years at Sunderland, a club who cornered the market in dramatically avoiding Premier League relegation before finally pushing their luck once too often, and dropping into League One.

As its name suggests, their training ground, the Academy of Light, houses both first-team and junior players, allowing a young Egan an insight into how they did it even without taking to the field. Perhaps the most impressive escape he saw was in 2012-13, when former Sheffield Wednesday striker Paolo Di Canio took over as manager in April and led them to consecutive victories over Newcastle United and Everton which kept them in the division.

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Ask him about that time, though, and his mind turns first not to the Italian but the senior professionals who instilled the right mindset around the club.

“As a first-team player I haven't been involved in any relegation battles but when I was young I was in and around the squad at Sunderland and I saw it a few times,” he says. “I learned you have to stay positive, you have to keep looking to the next game.

"The senior pros at the time at Sunderland were brilliant at that, the likes of John O'Shea and Lee Cattermole were great at rallying the troops and looking ahead rather than looking behind.

“I think that was the biggest lesson I learned.”

With Sheffield United going into Tuesday's Premier League match against Newcastle with only two points from their opening 17 matches, surviving in the top division looks an extremely tall order, but as one of the team's on-field leaders, it is important Egan does not give up the fight.

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Asked if having regularly worn the captain's armband this season the 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international now has to show the same leadership O'Shea, Cattermole and co did, Egan is keen to stress it is a collective effort.

“We all have to chip in and keep reminding each other that's what's done is done and what's ahead of us is all we can affect,” he says.

“It's a good way to approach things, a good way to approach life. Right now it's the best way to approach what we're going through. We're looking forward to Tuesday and we're preparing for the game because it's a chance for us to get the win and that's all we're focused on.

“Football is full of ups and downs. There's a lot more downs than ups for probably 90 per cent of players in the game so you have to deal with it.

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“This season's not been great, we've lost a lot of games but you can do two things: give up or keep fighting and I'm just lucky I'm I a football team that wants to keep fighting.

“No matter what your spell you're going through, that has to be the attitude.”

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