Burnley boss outlines the edge Sheffield United may have in Premier League promotion battle with Leeds United

One of Chris Wilder’s main priorities in the January transfer window was not only recruit players to bolster Sheffield United’s push for the Premier League, but the right type of players as well. The Blades laid some remarkable foundations in the first half of the season despite their threadbare options at times.

But January was seen as key to the Blades’ hopes of an instant return to the Premier League, with experience high on the agenda. Not players at 35 and 36 whose best days are perhaps behind them, but those in the bracket below who can still do a job but have also been around the block a little. Hamza Choudhury was a key example; a Championship title winner with Leicester City last season and still only 27 years old.

Rob Holding was another; 29 years old and with a plethora of top-flight appearances on his CV that could have doubled but for his curious state of exile at Crystal Palace. Ben Brereton Diaz is a Championship veteran who has since outgrown the division; even Tom Cannon, at 22, was in and around the Leicester squad last season that got back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, alongside Harry Clarke’s Ipswich Town.

Added to the likes of previous promotion-winners such as Kieffer Moore and Jack Robinson, United hope it will be a potent mix as they look to navigate a final eight games of the regular Championship season that will decide their fate this season. Last Sunday’s derby-day win over rivals Wednesday sent them back above nearest challengers Burnley and back level with leaders Leeds at the top.

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And the Blades have another chance to exert a bit more scoreboard pressure on their rivals this week, when they return to Championship action at home to Coventry City on Friday night. Leeds’ faltering recent form has opened the door for a three-way title tussle once again while United’s senior players are expected to come into their own in the final straight of a tight promotion race.

Burnley’s main promotion-winning experience, in contrast, is in the dugout, with boss Scott Parker looking to enter the Premier League for the third time after previous successes at Bournemouth and Fulham - with the majority of his squad experiencing his side’s current position, with all eyes on them and every single game scrutinised, for the very first time.

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“I hope [it will help],” said Parker of his own experience. “That is my main job really. So while this squad has some experience of being in this position, the majority have not. The majority of players here are young players, good players, very, very good players with big quality.

“But there are a lot of players that have probably not been at the back end of this division and what this division throws up. The sort of stability and the understanding of the dynamics of what this division brings and certainly what you need at this part of the season.

“I've been in this division twice now, and they're the same traits that are needed. They're the same things that keep coming up. That's probably right at the front of my mind when I'm obviously speaking to the group, the group understanding that, and that will be key.”