Tyler Bindon has become an increasingly important part of Chris Wilder’s plans in recent months

Sheffield United defender Tyler Bindon says everyone in the team is really looking forward to the challenge of playing host to Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby.

Bindon played the full 90 minutes in his side’s recent 1-0 win away to strugglers Portsmouth. It marked his 15th appearance of the league campaign since arriving on loan from Premier League side Nottingham Forest over the summer.

“It feels amazing,” said Bindon via BBC Radio Sheffield after the win at Fratton Park. “It was a tough place to come. To get the three points and a clean sheet is crucial moving forward.”

Bindon discusses his side’s recent turnaround

Bindon, who was nominated for the League One Young Player of the Season award last season, like many summer signings, had a challenging start to his Sheffield United career.

He made his full debut during a 4-1 loss to Bristol City and remained in the lineup for further defeats to Swansea, Millwall and Middlesbrough. Rubén Sellés then left Bindon out of the squad for his final league match in the dugout before departing.

From then on it took Bindon time to win the trust of Wilder as he returned for a third stint. He was left out of the squad for the manager’s first game back against Charlton, and was left out of the starting lineup for the next 11 matches before being reintroduced against Stoke City in December.

Since then, the New Zealand international has played in the majority of matches and is feeling the benefit of increased gametime.

“I’m enjoying it, I think the fans have been great. Everyone around me has been very supportive in helping me come into the team,” he explained.

“I’m very grateful to all of them and the coaching staff behind the scenes who continue to work with me and help me grow as a person and a player.

“I think it helps that everyone knows the place and is working hard together as a team to keep going. I think everyone's on the same page and ready to put a shift in when needed.”

Bindon sends rallying message to team ahead of Steel City showdown

Bindon has discussed the importance of building momentum at this stage of the season and his team’s desire to now go on a winning run and put pressure on the sides above them in the top six.

The defender explained: “We’re doing everything we can to go on a winning run. Everyone did really well from the strikers up top to Coops in goal. Getting a result at the end of the day is the most important thing no matter how you go about doing that.

“Hopefully we can start now. It’s never easy to do that so we just take it game by game step by step and we’ll look to do that.”

Ahead of the upcoming clash with the Owls, Bindon discussed his thoughts on the Steel City derby. He said: “Everyone in the squad is really looking forward to it. It’ll be awesome to play them at home in front of everyone. So hopefully we can get three points and send them on their way.”