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Sheffield United 1 Swansea 0 - MATCH REPORT AND SLIDESHOW
SHEFFIELD United have been warned that Neil Warnock will not allow sentiment to enter the automatic promotion equation at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Instead, Nick Montgomery, a member of the Bramall Lane squad Warnock guided into the Premier League three years ago, is adamant he will prove a formidable adversary when they attempt to repeat the feat next weekend.
United, third in the Championship table with just one game of the season remaining, moved to within a point of second-placed Birmingham City courtesy of this impressive victory over a Swansea side who, until David Cotterill's first-half penalty, harboured top-flight aspirations of their own.
A twist of fate means that Warnock, a manager still inextricably linked with the South Yorkshire club despite taking charge at Selhurst Park, is now an obstacle standing between them and an instant return to English football's promised land.
READ MORE: Sheffield United should be 'wary of Warnock'
"Neil will want to win every single match," Montgomery, whose tireless display in midfield epitomised the determination which ended Swansea's challenge, said.
"I know him well and his history with us means that he will want to put up a huge fight.
"There's no way he'll just want to lie down.
"He's a professional and, the way Neil will see it, his first responsibility now is to make sure Palace go out on a high.
"No doubt I'll have a word with him afterwards but I don't expect to see Neil popping into our dressing room before hand to wish us all the best.
"That's not to way he'll do things.
"We'll shake hands and have a chat after the final whistle but there won't be anything until then."
Those words will reassure Birmingham - whose lead over the chasing pack all but disintergrated following their defeat by Preston North End - ahead of an awkward trip to Reading.
Lane boss Kevin Blackwell, who cut his coaching teeth as Warnock's assistant before taking sole charge 14 months ago, is keen to avoid painting the match as a duel between the two.
But it represents an intriguing sub-plot.
Steve Coppell's men are also in the mix for automatic promotion but are the outsiders of the three clubs battling it out. Perhaps significantly, United's goal difference is superior to that of Birmingham.
With referee Rob Styles ordering Blackwell from the touchline before Cotterill dispatched the winning goal, it fell to Gary Speed, United's player-coach, to discuss their chances of avoiding a play-off lottery with the Press.
"Whatever happens we can't be disappointed," he said. "Since Christmas we've been absolutely superb and whenever we've needed to we've picked ourselves up.
"If we do end up having to take a different route then so be it but, from what I saw out there, the lads should still be confident.
"Swansea were probably the last outfit you'd want to face at this stage but we did ever so well.
"They like to keep possession and so we knew we would have to be patient.
"They had a lot of the ball - exactly as we knew they would -but we pressed them hard when they did and most of their possession was in their own half."
The contrast in styles was particularly evident during the opening exchanges but it was United, and Jamie Ward in particular, who consistently created clear-cut opportunities.
With Kyle Walker, making his first league start, nullifying the threat posed by Swansea winger Nathan Dyer, Northern Ireland under-21 international Ward twice went close only to see an early effort rul ed out for offside before appearing to shave the woodwork with a delightfully-weighted chip.
Blackwell, not for the first time in recent weeks, found himself at the centre of controversy after finally losing patience with Styles following Matthew Kilgallon's dubious caution.
"I think the gaffer was surprised," Speed said. "He didn't raise his voice at all.
"He merely asked why Killa had been booked when one of their lads had just got away with exactly the same thing."
Swansea manager Roberto Martinez was also unhappy with the Hampshire official for deeming Gary Monk guilty of an illegal tackle on Stephen Quinn as the two men jostled for position inside the box.
"I think he (Quinn) was very clever," the Spaniard said after watching Cotterill convert.
"When the referee blew I thought he was going to book him.
"Quinn slowed down, waited for the challenge, then threw himself down."
Speed, unsurprisingly, saw things differently.
"It looked perfectly clear-cut to me," he said.
Darius Henderson forced a fine reaction save from Dorus De Vries and Chris Morgan's thunderbolt tested Swansea's resilience from the resulting corner.
Martinez added: "It was an exciting encounter, as we all thought it would be given what was at stake, and our campaign has still been a huge success.
"United are very good and their ground is a Premiership environment."
SPEED'S VIEW:
I thought at this stage of the season the lads were absolutely magnificent.
Swansea were probably the last team you'd want to play at a time like this but the work we had put in on the training ground paid off and I thought we gave them lots to think about.
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Weather for Sheffield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
