Tom Cannon scored his fourth goal in 12 appearances for Sheffield United this season at Portsmouth on Wednesday night and earned a big reception from travelling supporters, with his work rate and movement proving just as valuable as his finishing...

Tom Cannon’s return of four goals in 12 appearances this season has given both him and Sheffield United a decent platform to build on - but Chris Wilder believes there is much more to the striker’s game than simply finding the net. The Irish international netted in Wednesday’s defeat at Portsmouth.

His header from Kalvin Phillips’ corner wasn’t enough to earn United a share of the spoils, with Ebou Adams scoring an 89th-minute winner after the Blades played most of the game with 10 men.

But the goal, and his overall workmanlike performance as a lone striker after Patrick Bamford was sacrificed at half-time, earned him a big reception from the travelling Unitedites as he made his way around the Fratton Park pitch after being brought off.

The exploits of the last week may earn him a rest when the Blades travel to Ashton Gate tomorrow but he seems to have cemented his position as part of Wilder’s first-choice strike partnership, with Tyrese Campbell reduced to cameo roles off the bench and Ryan One returning after injury.

“He had a good pre-season,” Wilder said of Cannon. “I thought he was good on Saturday [against Lincoln] without scoring as well. I talked to him about that as well.

“Of course we want centre-forwards to score, but it's not all about that. He opened spaces up for Pat. He opened spaces up for [Tahith] Chong with his work rate.

“Out of possession he's really good. It's something that we want to be good at. We want to get after teams and be good in the press. But we want to create chances and another goal will do him the world of good.

“It's the minimum that we asked. He leaves everything out there and he certainly left everything out there. I think that was recognised by every one of my supporters at Portsmouth.”

Cannon scored just once in his first season at Bramall Lane after a big-money move from Leicester City halfway through it but netted six times last term, including one again a 3-0 away rout of city rivals Wednesday.

And he is already some way towards matching that tally after just 12 games, suggesting that he is moving in the right direction as he looks to show Unitedites what he is really capable of.