Sheffield United: Manager Chris Wilder reveals how the Blades stay prepared for Premier League battles

But Chris Wilder has no intention of taking next season’s place at English football’s top table for granted, as his team prepares for Saturday’s game against a Burnley side still smarting following its heavy defeat by Chelsea last weekend.

The United manager, whose squad beat Arsenal before drawing with West Ham last weekend, said: “The way it’s got to be, the only way we can look at things, is just ‘head down and onto the next game.’

“Otherwise, all you do is get distracted and lose focus, which is something we can’t afford to do.

“Before the first [Arsenal] game, people were telling me that if we got beat, we’d only be a point of so above the relegation zone. We didn’t, but that goes to show how tight the division is and how quickly things can change.”

Despite being encouraged by United’s performances since returning to the top-flight – arguably even more so that some of their results – Wilder has warned his players on countless occasions the landscape can change dramatically in the space of only a few days.

With Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton among those below them in the rankings, United are aware many of those clubs currently in theire slipstream could quickly redisover their form.

“Burnley are 13th, but will climb above Wilder’s men if they win in South Yorkshire.

“This competition is so intense, it’s so full on, that you’ve just got to keep trying tol drive things forward,” Wilder said.

“It’s pretty relentless in that regard but it’s where everyone wants to be. So to stay there, you’ve got to be that [relentless] too.

“You’ve got to have that attitude.”