Sheffield United star thanks his critics

The midfielder made the admission after helping Chris Wilder’s side climb to seventh - only four points behind the Champions League places - after making a remarkable return to top-flight competition.

One pundit famously described United as being too “basic” for the division as they prepared for the new campaign. Another predicted they would be “relegated by Christmas” if Wilder refused - which he did - to abandon his attacking tactics.

Norwood, explaining how United had used those words to their own advantage, said: “It’s motivation, isn’t it.

“I read something Shaun Dyche (the Burnley manager) was talking about not so long ago, about how a piece in a pre-match programme when they went away from home had put the bit between the teeth of his lads.

“Well it’s the same here, with what people were saying about us.”

Forced to postpone this weekend’s meeting with Aston Villa after Dean Smith’s men reached the EFL Cup final, United return to action when they face Reading in the FA Cup on Tuesday before Norwich City visit South Yorkshire four days later.

Tracing United’s journey from their third to the first tier of English football since Wilder’s appointment in 2016, Norwood said: “Everything goes back to League One, and the winning mentality that the manager has brought to the club. That’s what he has built and that’s what we’ve got behind the scenes.”