Sheffield United: John Brayford lifts the lid on his departure from Bramall Lane

The right-back established himself as a fans' favourite in South Yorkshire after playing a key role in United's march to the FA Cup semi-final in 2014, and later made his loan move permanent in a £1.5m deal.

But he was shipped out to Burton on loan last season as Chris Wilder's side stormed to the League One title, and rejoined the Brewers on Deadline Day after his contract at United was cancelled by mutual consent.

And, speaking to the Burton Mail, Brayford said: "Overall, the way I look at Sheffield United, I had some of my best times in football there.

"I'll always have some great memories from that place. In the end, things haven't really worked out - that's just football as well as life. It was time to make a change. The way things were last year when I came on loan here, with the lads, and the majority have stayed the same, it's good to be back."

Brayford wasn't handed a squad number at the start of the season, but played in United's EFL Cup win over Walsall before a decision was made to terminate his contract.

"My position was made quite clear at Sheffield United early in the season," Brayford added, "and it was just a matter of how we could resolve the situation without upsetting anybody or anybody getting the wrong end of the stick.

"You'll probably still get people saying, 'this happened or that happened', but it was just a case of how was it best resolved. Typically, it always goes down to the last day as well.

"Don't get me wrong, my position was made quite clear, and then after the year I had last year, Burton was always up there in my possibilities. It's just great to get it all finished and done."