SHEFFIELD UNITED have reaffirmed their commitment to the Carling Cup ahead of tomorrow's second round tie at Huddersfield Town.
Kevin Blackwell's side, who could be poised to sell Chris Armstrong to Championship rivals Reading for a reported £750,000, travel to the Galpharm Stadium determined to reach the later stages of a tournament they came within two games of winning in 2003.
Blackwell, still Neil Warnock's assistant when United were beaten in a controversial semi-final by Liverpool, refuses to subscribe to the theory that progress in knock-out competition comes at the expense of success in the league, pointing out that their team went on to reach the Division One play-off final later that year.
Huddersfield inflicted their only defeat of the summer friendly programme when the two clubs last met on August 2.
Blackwell said: "If you rest on your laurels then you get kicked-up the a**e and we don't want that to happen.
"It's a big game against Huddersfield and we want to get through to the next round.
"So we'll be working like hell again beforehand and start from scratch all over again."
Despite his conviction that beating their League One opponents would represent the perfect preparation for this weekend's visit of Cardiff City, Blackwell is still expected to make numerous changes to the starting 11 which took the field against Blackpool on Saturday.
The slight knee injury Sun Jihai sustained during the dying moments of a 3-1 triumph should mean that the China defender is rested.
Matthew Spring and Danny Webber could build upon their impressive cameos at Bloomfield Road.
Blackwell also hopes that Chris Morgan, who missed the match with concussion, may be declared available for selection.
Meanwhile, Reading's interest in Armstrong appears to have intensified following claims that Southampton's Andrew Surman, Steve Coppell's preferred choice to fill the vacancy which exists for a full-back at the Madejski Stadium, could cost over £2m.
Blackwell denied last week that Coppell had submitted a bid for the former England youth international and insisted that players would only leave Bramall Lane on his terms.
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