James McAtee and Tommy Doyle make Sheffield United v Man City Wembley vow

With competition rules preventing them from facing Pep Guardiola’s side, there had been claims that neither would choose to attend the fixture which is being staged at Wembley Stadium. But those were dismissed by McAtee as United, second in the Championship table, begin their preparations for the clash with the Premier League title-holders.

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“We are going,” he told The Star. “I know everyone says it is a lose/lose situation but for me it’s actually a win/win. I want to play at Wembley of course and get to the final. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing at the game and I can’t speak for Tommy. I do know that, like me, he’s going to be there though. Of course he is. The way United have treated me, the way all the fans have treated us, how could we not be there against City? That just wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be the right thing to do and I don’t know why anyone might think we wouldn’t be there.”

McAtee, aged 20, and Doyle, one year his senior, have both played important roles in United’s march to London with the latter scoring a dramatic late winner against Blackburn Rovers in the last eight of this season’s tournament. Heckingbottom’s men beat Millwall, Wrexham and Tottenham Hotspur to set up the meeting with Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team, before learning they were ineligible for selection in London.

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“When we beat Blackburn, I was really pleased with the idea of playing at Wembley because I’ve never done that before,” McAtee continued. “Obviously it’s disappointing for both of us, knowing that we don’t stand a chance of being involved. We’ll go to the game, mind, and see who wins.”

Chasing automatic promotion, United’s focus only turned towards their clash with City yesterday following a 1-0 win over Bristol City at Bramall Lane. Both McAtee and Doyle, whose form was described as “amazing” by his fellow midfielder, were involved in that contest which saw them remain second in the table and eight points above third place ahead of last night’s games.

Heckingbottom has admitted he “would like” to work with Doyle and McAtee next term if United seal a return to the top-flight, although that would mean signing at least one of the duo permanently.

“I’m not looking at next season,” said McAtee, whose late strike secured United’s latest victory. “I’m just looking at the games we’ve got left. I know Manchester City are happy with my form here and with me bouncing back from a tough start. They watch all of our games but I’m not thinking about that, genuinely, right now. It’s just about making sure we do what we set out to achieve.”

“That’s why I came here, because I wanted to fight for promotion and I might not have another experience like this in the rest of my career,” McAtee added. “So my main focus is just trying to make sure we get up, not that (what happens at City).”

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