Sheffield United: It's a privilege to be a Blade, admits Lane star Caolan Lavery

The former Northern Ireland under-21 international, who left arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday earlier this season, was on target during the 4-0 rout of Swindon Town which lifted Chris Wilder’s side to second in the League One table.

Lavery, insisting the best is yet to come from a United team which has hit the target 36 times in its last 13 outings, told The Star: “It’s a privilege and an honour, going into work every day. When you’ve got a group of lads who are willing to work hard and fight for each other, it’s top class. It’s a great place to be and a great feeling to have.

“That’s the mentality of everyone here. All of the boys are top footballers. Credit to Swindon because they came here to play but, when it really clicks, I think it’s going to be hard for other people to stop us. That’s what we’ve got to aim for anyway.”

Lavery, making his 13th appearance since arriving at Bramall Lane, opened his United account during the closing stages of a match which saw Mark Duffy produce a midfield masterclass. The 31-year-old scored twice and claimed an assist as the hosts, who also saw Paul Coutts find the back of the net with a clinical finish, ran riot after a goalless first half.

Lavery, who described himself as “buzzing” for Duffy, added: “You’ve seen the mental strength we’ve got in previous games. The manager always stresses that. He tells us to just keep doing what we’re doing and eventually it will come our way. When you are playing up front and see how much quality there is behind you, not just the two central midfielders but also the wing-backs, you know you’re going to get chances. We’ve just got to be ruthless and make sure we stick enough of them away.”

United will draw level on points with leaders Scunthorpe if they beat Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena on Thursday and Lavery said: “I haven’t had too many chances and probably the one I got was a little bit lucky. But you’ve just got to keep trying to get into the right positions as a striker and something will go your way. If you just keep going and keep pressing then we’ll eventually wear teams down.”

“It’s come at a good time for me,” Lavery added. “We’re coming up to a busy period over Christmas and the New Year. I think Doney (Matt Done) was unlucky, he got himself into great positions and it’s just a matter of time before it really starts clicking for all of us. Sharpy (Billy Sharp), you always know is going to score goals and Leon (Clarke) isn’t too far away from getting some more himself.”