Sheffield United fans named most OPTIMISTIC in Championship as Rhian Brewster backed to inspire Premier League return

Often in direct contrast with their city rivals, where even the most modest of achievements are often over-hyped to almost biblical proportions, United are seen as sitting on the more pessimistic side of the Steel City footballing divide.

But that may soon change, if the results of a recent supporter poll are to be believed. Commissioned by EFL title sponsors SkyBet, the ‘fan hope survey’ asked supporters of Championship clubs how optimistic, on a scale of 1-10, they are about the upcoming season.

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With an average response of 7.1, United actually rank as the most optimistic supporters in the division in the survey, completed by SkyBet in partnership with YouGov.

At the other end of the scale, Birmingham City are the least optimistic fan base in the Championship with an average score of 4.83.

There was also overwhelming support from fans for manager Paul Heckingbottom – with a whopping 97 per cent of supporters believing the former Barnsley and Leeds boss is the man to take the Blades back to the Premier League.

Across the league, 11 per cent of fans believe Rhian Brewster, the United striker and record signing, will be the Championship’s top goalscorer as he returns from injury, while Bramall Lane was ranked second best in the league in terms of atmosphere – second only to newly-promoted Sunderland.

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Almost two thirds of Blades fans believe their club needs to sign a new striker in this window, with just over half of Unitedites polled saying they are happy with the club’s recruitment so far this summer – a figure that will no doubt drastically increase if the club unveil Reda Khadra as their latest signing.

Curiously, seven out of 10 Blades polled say they would like to see VAR implemented in the Championship while 57 per cent would rather see United back in the Premier League than receive a promotion themselves at work.

Former Blades boss Chris Wilder was also ranked as the best manager in the Championship, the current Middlesbrough chief earning 13 per cent of the league-wide voting.

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