'Winning mentality' sought as Sheffield United's new faces help shake off hangover fears
Sheffield United new boy Callum O’Hare on a winning mentality returning to Bramall Lane
One of the fears that Sheffield United faced going into this new campaign was the potential for suffering the hangover from hell.
Last season’s catastrophic year in the Premier League brought little more than misery for all concerned; for the fans having to watch it and the players themselves having to go through it, chasing shadows on an almost weekly basis as they notched up defeat after defeat. By the time we got to the turn of the year, the Blades had become a physical representation of the Simpsons meme, where the child exclaims: “Stop! Stop! He’s already dead,” as Homer delivers a lengthy beating on ‘The Krustyburgler’.
The season couldn’t end quickly enough, but with that came the worry about how much of a mental impact it would have on the club as a whole, even with a large number of players who took part in it leaving Bramall Lane when the final, final whistle blew in May.
It’s going to be difficult to exorcise all of the demons and we’ll not know for sure whether there has been a lasting impact until the new season begins, but an influx of fresh faces will hopefully, from a Blades perspective, help dilute the bitter aftertaste of that top flight horror-show.
Among those who have already come in to shake things up, is exciting midfielder Callum O’Hare, who in his two appearances so far has given United fans a little glimpse of, hopefully, what’s to come from him after his arrival from Coventry City. A little cameo against Chesterfield offered a snapshot before 45 minutes against Harrogate Town in which he scored a terrific goal, gave Blades fans more belief that new heroes were getting ready to emerge.
Although he hasn’t been at the club for very long, O’Hare admits that he has seen no signs of a cloud hanging over the team.
“There's been a few injuries [this pre-season] and a lot of young boys in at the minute and obviously with what's happened last year there's been a rebuild but it's been good, though, honestly I'm impressed with everyone and as you have seen so far the youngsters are taking their opportunity but hopefully there'll be more bodies through the door and we just have to gel quickly and get straight back on it. I feel like the players who have come in, that I knew already, we are gelling quite well, so hopefully the new ones that come in can gel as quickly and get the show on the road.”
On United last year, he added: “Obviously it's tough when you are losing and, it’s kind of hard for me to explain but even when you are playing well and something happens, you don’t get the win and I feel like that's what happened last season but this season we are building a winning mentality.
“The gaffer has said, he knows it's pre-season friendlies but we want to win and get the winning mentality back. In the dressing room, everyone's upbeat, we are winning and winning brings confidence and if you take that into the season you just get on the train. The Championship is a grind and when you are on a good run, it's hard to take you off it.”
Speaking about his own arrival, O’Hare says he has “settled in nicely” and is happy at this stage to be eased into left at the Blades and then build from there as pre-season preparations continue.
“Settled in quickly, he said. “I think I'm quite an easy-going person, easy to get along with but I already know some of the boys anyway so that definitely helps and I'm settling in nicely. I've only been here a week so they are not trying to rush me into games and stuff which is smart because I last played a game and trained in May. I feel comfortable already, I just want to keep improving and then by the first game of the season I want to be ready to go and play in front of the fans.”