'Win or bust' - Sheffield United will relish the intensity of their FA Cup quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers

With a place at Wembley awaiting the winners, the meeting between two of the Championship’s promotion-chasing teams appears evenly poised; Rovers avenging their defeat at Bramall Lane in August by claiming a 1-0 victory over the visitors from South Yorkshire earlier this month.

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Egan, who will report for Republic of Ireland duty immediately after the game, took part in both of those fixtures and thinks the intensity of knockout football suits a group of players who have suffered back to back defeats only three times since Heckingbottom’s appointment last term.

“It has an all or nothing feeling, it's one we enjoy,” Egan told The Star. “Everything on the line. That’s something we enjoy. It's win or bust and a good way to approach the game. When it’s win or bust you only have one option: Win. So it simplifies things.”

Second in the table - three places and nine points above Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men - United were drawn against Rovers after beating Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round. Their rivals from Lancashire also dispatched Premier League opposition, overcoming Leicester City away from home.

“It’s a big game,” Egan said. “We had a great win in the last round to get through. They know us well. We know them well. It’s going to be a good game. We want to get through to the semi-final and to do that, we need to play to our maximum.”

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