Michael O'Neill hints at Blackburn Rovers advantage ahead of Sheffield United clash
Blackburn Rovers will face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night with the ambition of preserving their Championship status.
Blackburn Rovers head coach Michael O’Neill has suggested his side will have a physical and mental advantage ahead of their clash with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Wednesday evening.
Rovers, who know a victory in S2 will secure Championship survival, played a day earlier than United at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with Coventry City at Ewood Park on Friday night. Despite not being able to hold on to what would have been a priceless three points, O’Neill’s side produced a very encouraging performance.
On the flip side, United did not play until Saturday afternoon, beating Watford 2-0 at Vicarage Road, meaning they have had a day less than Rovers to prepare for their penultimate home game of the campaign.
Following Oxford United’s 1-0 defeat to Wrexham on Tuesday night, Blackburn know a win over Chris Wilder’s side will see them safe whereas a draw or a defeat will present Oxford with a lifeline in their quest to beat the drop.
Last winning at Bramall Lane back in 1994, Rovers chief O’Neill believes getting an extra day to prepare for the trip to the Steel City should serve his side well.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: “To have that extra day, the players definitely seem a little bit fresher physically and mentally. But then we had the difficulty of playing Tuesday to Friday last week and travelling back Wednesday.
“That's why I felt Friday's performance was terrific because the preparation time was so little and the demands on the players had been so high in that week, playing two back-to-back away games and then playing the team looking to clinch promotion. I think we dealt with that extremely well.
“We have obviously played the extra game and the teams will catch that up at the weekend. But as I say, all those things are really things that we can't pay too much attention to because the focus is ourselves and the game tomorrow night.”
Offering his assessment of the Blades, O’Neill, who is currently splitting his time managing Rovers and the Northern Ireland national team, continued: “A team that I would imagine had different expectations at the start of the season, had a bad start and then obviously in the second half have picked up well, particularly under Chris going back in there.
“There's a little bit of a pivot with changing manager and then going back to the previous manager. All those situations never make it easy for players.
“It can be easy to be critical of players, but trying to have a settled scenario always makes it easy for players. They've had two good wins in their last two games. It will be another Championship game away from home, which is always tough.”