The player who has shown the type of spirit Sheffield United need to avoid the drop

Oliver Burke has been praised for showing the character Sheffield United will require in order to stand a chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League, after volunteering for duty over the Christmas and New Year period despite receiving treatment for a back injury.
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After commending centre-forward Oli McBurnie for pushing himself through the pain barrier against Everton last month - coming on as a second half substitute when Burke was unable to continue because of a muscle spasm - Wilder revealed Burke had done the same during Tuesday’s visit to Burnley.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Crystal Palace, where United will be going in search of their first win this season, Wilder said: “Oli (Burke) stuck his hand up. He told us he wanted to be involved, even though he probably shouldn’t have been. If we’d have had more strikers available, he probably wouldn’t even have been on the bench. He didn’t even have half a game in him but he’s ready to put himself out there and in the firing line. You can only admire someone who is ready to do that because, in the position we are in, it would be easy for people to try and hide or just duck out.”

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United travel to London at the bottom of the table and 11 points adrift of safety after losing 1-0 at Turf Moor; the 11th time they have been beaten by a single goal since returning to action in September. McBurnie missed that match, while two members of United’s squad were forced to sit out the fixture after testing positive for Covid-19. A number of Wilder’s coaching staff also discovered they had contracted the virus, although United did not ask for the game to be postponed.

Ben Mee of Burnley tussles with Oliver Burke of Sheffield United during the Premier League match at Turf Moor: Andrew Yates/SportimageBen Mee of Burnley tussles with Oliver Burke of Sheffield United during the Premier League match at Turf Moor: Andrew Yates/Sportimage
Ben Mee of Burnley tussles with Oliver Burke of Sheffield United during the Premier League match at Turf Moor: Andrew Yates/Sportimage

“We need as many of our best players available as possible,” Wilder said, after losing Jack O’Connell and Sander Berge to long-term injury. “It’s tough, we didn’t have any at all really last year. That’s why seeing lads like Oli - and he’s not the only one by the way - doing what they are doing makes me admire this group even more than I did already.”