Sheffield United are told what will be at stake when they sign-off the season at Southampton
Sheffield United will enter their final match of the Premier League season on Sunday with plenty of incentives to perform, Jack O’Connell has revealed, despite seeing their hopes of qualifying for Europe dashed.
Although Monday’s defeat by Everton combined with results elsewhere in the competition marked the end of United’s challenge for a place in next term’s Europa League, Chris Wilder’s squad travel to Southampton assured of a top 10 finish having only been promoted last term.
Wilder, the United manager, told his players they should be proud of their achievements across the course of a campaign disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic following the meeting with Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
With that in mind, and having outlined his desire to build upon the progress United have made since August, O’Connell said: “The main thing, for me anyway, is that we don’t want to go into the summer and the start of a new season on the back of some bad results. So we want to bounce back.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve always ended seasons in good form. So I think it’s important we do that again and finish on a high.”
United, who were languishing in League One when Wilder took charge in 2016, have never signed off a season with a defeat under the 52-year-old’s stewardship - beating Chesterfield and Bristol City before drawing with Stoke City having waved goodbye to the Championship a week earlier. That result saw United begin their preparations for their first top-flight campaign since 2007 on the back of a seven match unbeaten run - a sequence which, having bolstered confidence within the ranks, helped them establish a foothold in the division and eventually push for a top six finish.
“In any game, there’s always plenty to play for,” O’Connell said. “We’re professional footballers who want to win at anything, no matter what we’re doing.
"That's the way we're built here, that's the attitude we've got and the way things are done. So we're always going all out, no matterf what, to try and get a result. The manager, quite rightly, won't accept anything less."
An important message: Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues. The Star is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions for unlimited access to Sheffield news and information online. Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city. Once again, thank you. James.
