Sheffield United star reassures fans over promotion fears ahead of defining month

Oli McBurnie has rejected the theory that Sheffield United’s run to the last four of the FA Cup could potentially derail their push for the Premier League – insisting it could instead work to their advantage by proving extra “motivation and focus”.

United, who travel to Norwich City this weekend second in the Championship table and in pole position to secure automatic promotion back to the top flight, have balanced their league campaign with FA Cup heroics, booking their place at Wembley for a glamour semi-final against favourites Manchester City on April 22.

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Boss Paul Heckingbottom has spoken all season of his approach to the cups, treating them as different propositions to the Blades’ league campaign and insisting they can bring a freshness to a group so used to the relentless and pressurised grind of a Championship promotion push.

United face eight games in a month of April that will largely dictate whether their season is doomed to end in success or failure, with striker McBurnie admitting that the task of fighting on two fronts can be “tough”.

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“But it’s an exciting toughness, you know?,” McBurnie added. “I know the gaffer says it all the time, but it’s so true. If you’d said we’d be here at the start of the season, everyone would be buzzing.

“Our ultimate goal is to get promoted but at the end of the day, how many FA Cup finals do you play at Wembley? I’ve never played there at all so it’ll be a first for me and I was surprised how many of the boys have never played there.

“It’s exciting. It wasn’t the ideal draw, but it’s an exciting challenge. You want to play against the best teams and I said before, I think they’re the best in the world.”

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Speaking to former Blades striker Carl Asaba on the BBC’s Blades Heaven podcast, McBurnie agreed that “distraction is the wrong word” over the run to the final four of the FA Cup.

“It brings even more of a focus … and motivation’s a great word. The boys who are playing want to play every game, including the semi-final, and the ones who aren’t will want to force their way into the tam arguably even more. You know the competition in our dressing room is always there but it might just add that little bit more, which will always be a positive.”

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“It’s football, anything can happen on the day,” said McBurnie on the meeting with Pep Guardiola’s superstars. “I certainly don’t think we’ll be the bookies’ favourites, I think that’s fair to say!

“Playing against the best team in the world, on probably the biggest pitch in the world, is not ideal. But it’s football and anything can happen.”

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