Sheffield United: Brian Deane’s emotional Dave Bassett tribute shows ‘Harry’ was ahead of the game

Brian Deane has paid an emotional tribute to fellow Sheffield United legend Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett, describing him as a “special” person and admitting he wouldn’t have achieved what he did in the game without his former manager’s help.

The two men worked together to great effect at Bramall Lane in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with United rising from the third tier to the top-flight in that time. Deane went on to cement his place in football folklore by scoring the first goal in Premier League history, against Manchester United back in 1992, and has remained indebted to Bassett ever since.

“Harry was a special manager in many ways,” Deane said. “Think about the squad we had, the team we had ... and some of the things he introduced, a lot of people get credit for later. We’re talking sports science, strength and conditioning, diets.

“We had to do it to find any sort of percentage advantage we could and we don’t get the credit for it. He didn’t get the credit for it. People talk about sports psychologists, and Harry had all that already. He was a very underrated person and manager.

“His man-to-man management was brilliant. If I hadn’t met him, I might not have done what I did because it took a special person to really see what I needed. There were times I needed an arm around me and times when I needed a good talking to, and Harry seemed to know when those times were.

“And he did it with the rest of the squad as well. He picked up players from non-league and the lower leagues, and they all seemed to just gel. He was good at creating a real siege mentality, where everyone outside didn’t matter and we were the ones who could make the difference.”

At The Star Football Awards earlier this year Deane was presented with a special award to mark the 30th anniversary of the season which was kicked off by his historic goal. “Where has the time gone?” he added. “When you love doing something it just goes and when you’re a young player, you want to enjoy every moment because it’s soon gone. We have plenty of memories and the films and everything, but it goes quickly. And I do miss it.”