How one Sheffield United star hopes to make history

The Sheffield United midfielder might even have been tempted to use the word ‘massive’. But after spending eight months studying the politics and vocabulary of Steel City football, that has been banished from his phrasebook.

Still, as he discussed tomorrow’s FA Cup tie at Reading, before touching briefly upon Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Norwich City, Osborn left no one in the room in any doubt whatsoever that the next five days, if all goes well, could help an already memorable season become a truly historic one.

“We’re excited about this,” the 25-year-old said, as he prepared to depart for the Madejski Stadium. “We want to go through in this and then drive it forward into the next game. Because there’s so much for us to go for.”

Eighth in the table and effectively assured of their place in the top-flight next term, United have comfortably achieved their main objective with 11 matches to spare. Only five points outside the Champions League places and with a game in hand on Chelsea, Chris Wilder’s side are serious European contenders. On two fronts, given their progress into the fifth round of the world’s most prestigious domestic knockout tournament.

“If we go through, then we’re only one away from Wembley,” Osborn said, remembering the semi-finals are staged at the national stadium. “So it means a lot, it’s exciting and it all starts here.”

Osborn has both personal and professional reasons for wanting to progress. Signed following United’s promotion from the Championship, by his own admission he has not featured as much as he would have liked since leaving Nottingham Forest in July. But after taking part in United’s victories over AFC Fylde and Millwall, which set-up their trip to Berkshire, the cup represents his best chance to stake a claim for a regular start.

“If we get into Europe, there’s going to be loads more football and loads more opportunities,” Osborn said. “There’s been a little bit of talk in the group, because it’s something to aim towards. We don’t just want to finish mid-table, we want a little bit more.”

“It doesn’t really feel normal, to be where we are,” he added. “Everyone has worked so hard to be here, so no one is taking anything for granted. Everyone is excited about the cup as well, we just want it to carry on.”

With Enda Stevens still nursing a calf injury, Osborn is expected to begin the meeting with Mark Bowen’s side, who are 16th in the second tier. Panos Retsos and Jack Robinson, who were both unveiled during the recent transfer window, are also hopeful of being named in Wilder’s first choice eleven. The latter, like Osborn, was recruited from Forest.

“I told Jack before (he came in) to get ready, because training is tough,” Osborn admitted. “He said to me the other day ‘you were right weren’t you.’ He told me there’s times he’s going home and he can’t move.

“He brings extra competition and he’s a really good player.”

“There will be runs and the gym sessions are relentless,” he continued. “It’s heavy weights too, not just a token gesture or a token session. It’s the intensity that we train at.

“And the thing you notice here is that everyone is at the same level. We aren’t aren’t carrying any passengers.”

Although they are in fine shape physically - despite carrying a “couple of knocks”, Wilder has acknowledged that United could still be at “full-strength” - Osborn warned the psychology of facing lower league opposition means Reading can not be taken lightly.

“When you’re the underdog, you feel as if you’ve got nothing to lose. There’s a freedom that comes with that. When you don’t have that freedom, it can make it a little more difficult. But we’ve shown, in the last round, that we can handle that and cope with it.”

Osborn was referring to United’s display at The Den; a performance which, he insisted, should provide the template for their clash with Reading.

“We got the result against Fylde,” Osborn said. “But we made 11 changes and, of course, it wasn’t a great performance. The one at Millwall was really professional I thought.

“The boys did great and limited them to very few chances.

“I think we’ve got to go into it the way we did there, at Millwall. We’ve got to be ruthless and know that it’s going to be tough. I think the conditions might be conducive to a little bit more football here because the pitch down there in London wasn’t great.”

Reading have played twice since United, who were forced to postpone last weekend’s game against Aston Villa because their scheduled opponents were contesting the EFL Cup final, drew 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion.

But Bowen’s men could be boosted by the return of captain Liam Moore, who missed Saturday’s victory over Barnsley through illness.

“We just want to make it as difficult as possible and show what we can do,” Osborn said. “If we produce what we’re capable of, then we know we can win the game.

“We want to progress, it’s a real opportunity. I’m sure they’ll see it as a chance as well, because they’re at home and so they’ll see that as giving them an edge. It’s going to be a tough game, we know that, but there’s a really strong mentality to this group.”