Sheffield United given the blueprint for success at Brighton after manager's stark warning

Paul Heckingbottom has laid out the blueprint for Sheffield United to follow at Brighton this weekend if they are to pick up another huge result in their bid for Premier League survival. The Blades travel south boosted by their first win of the campaign last weekend against Wolves.

But the home side are also on a high after a stunning European victory away at Ajax on Thursday night, billed by boss Roberto De Zerbi as the biggest in their history. Despite failing to win in their last five league matches, Albion are still seventh in the Premier League and will provide a tough test for the Blades before the latest international break.

But victory over Wolves has provided some optimism around Bramall Lane and despite being roundly written off, with some pundits mockingly decrying them as one of the worst teams in Premier League history, they can actually climb out of the bottom three this weekend if they pull off another shock victory, and results elsewhere go in their favour.

"You need so much to go your way for that to happen but you fight for those things," boss Heckingbottom said. "That's the aim, without a doubt. We know how difficult our game is but that's the only one we're focused on and if we managed it in our game and results go your way then it would feel great.

De Zerbi makes Blades/Ajax comparison as boss sends Brighton message

"But it's still only a few games into the season and, regardless of what we do in the short term, we have to brace ourselves for how tough and difficult this league is. Because there'll be moments where if you get carried away and start relaxing, things can come back and bite you. So we have to get the mentality right. We're fighting, we've worked so hard to get here and we're fighting to stay here."

Outlining the blueprint for his side to follow, in this game and for the rest of the season, Heckingbottom added: "Just attack every game, be as aggressive as you can and show your quality. If it's not going to be our day then it won't be our day. But we know what we need to do to give ourselves the best chance."