James Shield's Sheffield United Column: The battle for Steel City supremacy

That was how Chris Wilder chose to end his latest pre-match briefing. Make no mistake, the Sheffield United manager’s pursuit of success is absolutely relentless.

Eighth in the Premier League table, eyeing a place in Europe and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, this character trait has clearly rubbed off on a squad of players who, when he took charge less than four years ago, were still competing in League One.

Hopefully it makes an impression - and is adopted - by folk behind the scenes too. Because United, given the riches, spotlight and global reach top-flight status brings, have an opportunity to dominate the region’s footballing scene for years to come. Establish a vice like grip, if they continue to progress so rapidly, on the next generation of supporters’ hearts and minds.

Sat in the media room at the Steelphalt Academy yesterday morning, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two fellow journalists as we waited for Wilder to begin previewing tomorrow’s fixture against Norwich City.

One insisted it would be better for the city, United included, if Sheffield Wednesday could also gain promotion from the Championship. The other, a Blades fan, rubbished his colleague’s theory that competing in the same division would spur the two clubs on and enable them to eventually challenge England’s supposed elite.

“I’m not actually bothered what Wednesday do,” he countered. “Well actually I am. As far as I’m concerned, I want them to get relegated. And then get relegated again.” Well, he put it a little less politely than that. But you get the general drift.

To be honest there is merit in both arguments, which are repeated, albeit in reverse, on the other side of the divide. The area would prosper if United and Wednesday were slugging it out at the highest level. But the rivalry between the two, which makes their derbies so compelling, benefits from being bitterly partisan. No matter what the prawn sandwich brigade who, after deciding the sport they once sneered at was now fashionable, have spent the past decade trying to sanitise it and turn the matchday experience into the equivalent of a trip to Disneyland.

What everyone can agree on, however, is that United’s resurgence has coincided with a fallow period at Hillsborough. For whatever reason, Wednesday have been unable to translate some pretty heavy investment and following as loyal and as dedicated as United’s into success on the pitch.

Which presents United, given how the PL has morphed into a financial and marketing giant since their last taste of it in 2007, with a chance to grow their support base, commercial revenue streams and, given the importance of image in the modern world, become standard bearers for South Yorkshire. Then sit back and enjoy all the advantages, in terms of business and profile, that brings.

Nothing lasts forever. Those of us of a certain vintage know fortunes in the game are usually cyclical and that next term, no matter how well Wilder’s charges are doing right now, nothing is guaranteed.

So United will be making a major mistake if they do not heed his advice to “keep driving things forward” on and off the pitch. At this point in time, they are winning the battle for supremacy in Sheffield. And they must focus, in every single department, on making the most of that head start. Whatever their motivation is.