Sheffield United: How representing Rangers made promotion chaser a 'Better Man'

After experiencing the disappointment of relegation during his first season in South Yorkshire, Foderingham has emerged as one of the key figures in a United team which enters tomorrow’s match against Huddersfield Town only a point outside of the Championship play-off positions.

Despite initially being viewed as cover for Aaron Ramsdale and then Robin Olsen, Foderingham travels to the John Smith’s Stadium as United first choice goalkeeper following a series of impressive displays since manager Paul Heckingbottom’s appointment in November.

With precious little margin for error at the top of the table, where 14 teams still have genuine aspirations of winning promotion, Foderingham insisted the lessons he learned before leaving Glasgow should stand him in good stead.

“From being up there, I’m used to that pressure,” he told The Star. “In fact, I actually enjoy it.

“When I first went to Rangers, I was young and naive. Confident, yes. But definitely, looking back, naive.

“When I came here to United, I was much improved following my time there. I improved as a player, definitely. But I would say my biggest improvement was as a man. Being in that environment, where so much is expected and demanded of you, it means you’ve got to think differently about your game and also the decisions you make both as a footballer and as a person in general.”

Foderingham took part in 11 Old Firm derbies against Celtic and helped Rangers lift the Scottish Championship title before joining United two years ago. Aged 31, he is now targeting a third career promotion after anchoring Swindon Town’s climb out of League Two ahead of his switch north of the border.

“Like United, Rangers are a fantastic club that it’s a privilege to play for,” said Foderingham, who has kept eight clean sheets in his last 18 appearances. “As great as the fans are up there, they’re unforgiving. You need to be an ‘eight out of 10’ every single week. That’s something I’m trying to do here.”