Sheffield United star’s often-overlooked influence highlighted as he recalls Man Utd inspiration

Ollie Norwood has attributed his combative streak to his northern upbringing after a key statistic highlighted his often-overlooked defensive contribution to his continued success in a Sheffield United shirt.

The former Northern Ireland international has proven a successful signing since arriving from Brighton and Hove Albion and one season apart, when everyone in a United shirt struggled and the Blades relegated from the Premier League, has shone in the Blades midfield since the day he initially arrived on loan.

While the 32-year-old’s ability on the ball is without question, it is the “dirty work” on the other side of the game that often goes overlooked when it comes to Norwood. No player in the entire Championship won more tackles than Norwood last season as the Blades won promotion - an achievement made all the more impressive considering he lost his place to Manchester City loanee Tommy Doyle for the latter part of the campaign.

Now a four-time promotion winner from the Championship, in his last five seasons at that level, Norwood is preparing for another crack at the Premier League after triggering a contract extension and, speaking during the promotion campaign, opened up on the early upbringing that shaped his approach to the game.

“You don’t shirk a tackle, do you?,” he said. “Sometimes a tackle can get a bigger clap than a goal. I think it’s more of a northern thing, isn’t it? It’s how you’re brought up.

“We had a youth coach at Man United, Warren Joyce, who would literally take you off if you didn’t tackle. So you learn the hard way; if you don’t get stuck in, you’re not going to play. Without the ball these days is sometimes just as important as when the team has the ball.”

Norwood’s approach was shaped in the early days at the Red Devils’ academy where he watched Paul Scholes in training. “I spoke to him quite a lot; he was brilliant with the young boys,” Norwood added. “All the senior players were. They all helped out and gave us advice, but in particular he was the player who I watched the most.

“I’ve never been able to run, fast, I’ve never been physically dominant. You’ve seen the size of me, I’m tiny aren’t I? It’s just how it is, and you’ve got to learn how you can best use your attributes.

“Mine has been on the ball and passing it, so how quickly can I get on the ball before anyone can get near me and how quickly can I shift it on? As you get older and more experienced you learn which positions to pick up and I learned from watching Paul Scholes every day.

“His awareness and the positions he took up, no-one could get near him. He was the perfect role model and I tried to learn as much as I could by watching and observing. I’m not saying I’m anywhere near the level he was at, because I’m not. But he was a role model and definitely someone I watched and tried to model my game on.”