Sheffield United stars deserve Bramall Lane rocking v Bristol City amid Leeds United, Coventry City comparison

Sheffield United’s players return to Bramall Lane on Monday evening having taken a huge stride towards Wembley later this month - and Chris Wilder hopes that there is a full house at Bramall Lane there to greet them for the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Bristol City. The Blades will kick off 3-0 ahead on aggregate after a brilliant result at Ashton Gate last night.

Ticket sales for the final Bramall Lane game of a memorable season so far were opened up earlier this week, with the hope that the ground will be packed once again despite high ticket prices as a result of City’s refusal to agree to a £15 maximum cost. At a time when season ticket renewals are at the forefront of many minds, and the prospect of an expensive trip to Wembley only increased after the first-leg result, wallets may be stretched.

But if any side deserved a raucous send-off into what hopefully will be a play-off final, it’s this group. They have given absolutely everything for their supporters this term in a remarkable three-way promotion race with Leeds and Burnley which saw them fall just short after winning a remarkable 92 points in the regular campaign, and the scenes in the away end at Ashton Gate on Thursday night will live long in the memory.

But the Robins fans were also raucous in support of their side early in the game and that backing has really set the standard for Blades to emulate on Monday as Wilder’s men look to finish the job and avoid any second-leg nerves against a City outfit who will now travel north with nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

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“Of course, I'm delighted that we've got a three-goal lead,” said Wilder afterwards, “but it's still a hell of a lot of work to go into this. There must be a full house at Bramall Lane. There must be a full house at Bramall Lane for this team, in my opinion. Because it's not going to be that Tuesday night when we played them [at home].

“When, no disrespect, you’re playing the teams that maybe don't bring an awful lot on a Tuesday night, and it's a little bit cold and this, that and the other. This is Bramall Lane, hopefully, at its best, like it was against Coventry, like it was in the derby, like it was against Leeds, like it was against Middlesbrough. Giving the players the energy to push them on to, hopefully, a Wembley appearance.”

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United’s celebrations post-match were deliberately low key, with the message very much that the job is not yet done and a place in the showpiece final is not being taken for granted. “We were into the players straight away,” Wilder added.

“Up to our punters, who were outstanding, and then straight in. I’ve been in the game long enough, I’ve got too much respect for the game and what can happen in the game. If you try and shortcut anything, you're going to get hurt, and we intend not to get hurt.

“We're back in [on Friday]. We'll reflect, we'll do all the preparation we need and we need another big performance, from everybody. It’s not often I ask for it, because I don’t have to, but Bramall Lane rocking on a Monday night, showing everybody that this club is connected and it's together and supporting the boys and giving the energy to the players that their punters gave their boys tonight, is an absolute must for me.”