"I loved it there" - How Conor Coady remembers Sheffield United loan spell under "fantastic" Nigel Clough

Coady signed for the Blades under David Weir, who was sacked after just 13 games in charge and replaced by Nigel Clough.Clough took United from the relegation zone to the brink of the play-offs that season, using a run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup as a catalyst to turn around the Blades' league form.

Coady and Co. led Premier League side Hull City at half-time of the semi-final at Wembley, and reaching the final would have seen the Blades qualify for Europe with fellow finalists Arsenal finishing fourth in the top flight.

"We came in at half time and everyone was silent, and we all just burst out laughing," Coady remembered, speaking on the Super 6 podcast.

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"If we'd have got to the final we'd have been in the Europa League and we were in League One. It was mental to even think of that so we just had a laugh to ourselves, and the game was incredible.

"We gave a great account of ourselves and the club is brilliant, I loved it there."

United couldn't hold onto their 2-1 half-time lead, eventually losing 5-3, but Coady - now an England international and established top-flight centre-half with Wolverhampton Wanderers - has nothing but good memories of his loan spell at Bramall Lane from boyhood club Liverpool.

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"It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I can't speak highly enough of my time at Sheffield United," Coady said.

"The people were fantastic. Nigel was fantastic for me. He's a real good man and a fantastic manager who helped me kick on and made sure we had a good season.

"The league was brilliant, the things we were doing. I went there under Weir and it was tough because we were trying to play a different way and it was a tough, tough league.

"Nigel came in and really changed it, he knew the league and how to play with the players he had. We had so many games and it was brilliant, I loved every minute of it."

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