Ex-Sheffield Wednesday man out to claim huge Sheffield United cup scalp as Gillingham man sends Blades warning

Gillingham defender Max Ehmer has called on everyone connected with the League Two side to make things "horrible" for Sheffield United when the Premier League side visit Priestfield for tomorrow's FA Cup third-round tie. Almost 60 clubs separate the top-flight's bottom side and Stephen Clemance's men, who are 10th in League Two.

Blades boss Chris Wilder has spent all week drilling the importance of this game into his players, as he looks to start a big year on the front foot. Wilder has promised that United will approach the game "at full tilt" and that he will play his strongest side, while managing a number of injuries amid a fitness crisis that he is looking to get to the bottom of.

A sell-out home crowd awaits the Blades, with Wilder reminding his side about the importance of character and attitude, and Ehmer said: “There has always been an extra little buzz when you play against those bigger teams. With a sell-out here, and the fans we’ve got, it should be a great atmosphere.

“When big teams come here we have to make it horrible for them. We’ll have a game with a plan, 11 v 11, and we’ll do our best to get a result. It’s a sell out, so we’re really excited and we have to give the fans something to shout about. We have been on a good run and we are looking to take that confidence into this game. We will be going into the game positive but we still have to respect them, because they are a Premier League team.”

No League Two side has scored fewer goals this season than Gillingham's 21 in their 25 games so far but Stephen Clemence's side have had 56 shots on goal in their last three games and the former Tottenham and Birmingham player told KentOnline: “We will have a game plan and I would imagine they will have more of the ball than us. They are a Premier League team.

"Of course you need to have a plan of how to set up defensively against them but when we go forward we have to try and commit bodies forward otherwise we will never score. Every game is a challenge and this will be a bigger one, but we will be going to have a go. We’re not just going to roll over; we have to try and make an impact and try and disrupt Sheffield United’s rhythm. We won’t be sitting back and waiting to get beat, that’s for sure. We will do the best we can to get a result.”

Clemence, a former coach under Steve Bruce at Wednesday, Hull City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa, has come up against sides managed by Wilder before and is looking forward to locking horns with the Blades boss for the first time in his own right. “Chris is a fantastic manager; he has done it at the lower levels and to take a team to the Premier League like he did and the way his team played, was absolutely fantastic," Clemence said. "I have a lot of respect for him.

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“I have come up against him quite a few times while working alongside Steve and have been on the end of some good results but had some difficult ones as well. I’m looking forward to competing against him myself now and hopefully we can do a good job.

“I am not looking into where they are [in the table] - they are Premier League players, a Premier League manager and a Premier League club. I am not gong to come out and say: 'Of course we can do it'. It will be a difficult game, we are going to need a lot of things to go right for us on the day, but it’s the FA Cup. You do often see upsets in the third round. Why can’t it be us?"