Sunderland v Sheffield United: Chris Basham has no doubt where loyalties lie

But there was no doubting where his footballing loyalties lay, Sunderland being where his dad still has a season ticket despite Basham, 29, having spent his entire career away from Wearside.

Basham snr will be in his usual seat at the Stadium of Light tomorrow when Sheffield United come to town for a fixture that will always have a special resonance for the midfielder.

“I made my (Premier League) debut there, at Sunderland, for Bolton Wanderers,” says Hebburn-born Basham ahead of United’s trip north.

“We won that day (in November, 2008). My first goal came at Chelsea but Sunderland was where I made my debut so that makes it special.

“This is a great opportunity to go there and play in front of my family. My dad has kept his season ticket on so he can watch from his own seat up there. But, to be honest, he comes to pretty much all of our games anyway.

“He likes to tell the fans around him: ‘That’s my boy playing out there’ – which is a nice feeling. When my dad can’t go to Sunderland, my uncles all use the season ticket. He just passes it around.”

Two divisions separated tomorrow’s two combatants last season but United’s record-breaking promotion coupled with Sunderland’s sorry slide into the Championship meant this was a fixture all the Basham clan eagerly looked for when the fixtures came out in June.

“I will always say ‘they’ not ‘us’,” replied Basham with a smile when asked about taking on his boyhood club. “I am Sheffield United through and through now. All I am bothered about is doing well here and getting this club to where it wants to be. To where it probably should be in fact.”

The Blades have adapted well to life in the Championship after six years away, as a points tally of nine from the opening five games readily attests.

Sunderland started well under new manager Simon Grayson but lost their final two league outings before the first international window of the season to Leeds United and Barnsley.

“It is a good game because it is so early,” said Basham, released by Newcastle United as a 16-year-old before joining Bolton. “If a newly relegated team settles straight away, it will be a tough, tough game.

“But I think having them early is good, to be honest. When new managers come in, when a club has been relegated you do wonder: ‘Where are their heads at?’ Are they on a downer after coming out of the top-flight?’

“This club (Sheffield United), though, is on the up. We got 100 points last year and have a manager who knows exactly what he wants.”