Sheffield United: Defender reveals the driving force behind The Blades' Premier League success

Speaking ahead of Sunday's meeting with Manchester United, Baldock reminded how some critics had dismissed his team mates' chances of competing at the highest level before a ball had even been kicked following their promotion from the Championship.

But after holding Tottenham Hotspur to a draw in London earlier this month, Wilder's squad entered the international break in fifth; a point and two places above their latest opponents.

Baldock, who like many of his colleagues started out in the lower divisions before helping United reach the top-flight, said: “Everyone's similar in the dressing room, we've all had those knockbacks and question marks over us. We all had it coming into this division, with the pundits not even taking us seriously in the Premier League."

"On a personal note, I've had it," the former MK Dons wing-back added. "You play at League Two and people say, 'Yeah, but can he play League One?' You play at League One, 'Can he play in the Championship?'"

United will stretch their unbeaten run to six games if they avoid defeat this weekend, although an injury to John Egan threatens to complicate Wilder's preparations for the visit of Ole Gunnar Solskjær's men. With goalkeeper Dean Henderson ineligible for selection, the United manager will be desperate to avoid further disruption to a defence which has been breached only nine times in its last 12 outings.

"To do it is brilliant but we've achieved nothing," Baldock said. "I want to make that clear: We've achieved nothing at the minute.

"We've got our points total and that's that. There are so many games to play and we're not going to get ahead of ourselves. We had belief at the start of the season but every man in there knows we've nowhere near accomplished what we want to achieve this season."

"Our manager will not let us get ahead of ourselves," he added. "If we do, he will come down on us like a tonne of bricks. He'll keep us so grounded and I think that honesty, desire and fight can be seen in our performances."