Working hard, and certainly getting the rewards out of it.
It’s certainly been an incredible year for Sheffield United, currently sitting 7th in the Premier League with less than ten games to go, and has been arguably the crowning moment in our magnificent rise in recent years. But it hasn’t been easy to get this far, as members of the squad well know.
Speaking to The Irish Mirror, Blades defender John Egan has opened up about the main difference that he has had to adjust to when it comes to playing in the Premier League compared to the Championship.
“The tempo is much quicker. You’re sprinting more as you’re up against faster, stronger players. Being a centre-half, I’m doing a lot of organising and I’m not running as much as the midfielders or the two lads beside me at Sheffield United who overlap. But mentally I have to stay switched on because if you leave someone like Aguero in, it’s a goal. You have to stay tuned in for 95 minutes but after the game you are exhausted so you go back and lie down.”
And his comments kind of touch on something that I have been saying for some time, and they act as a real eye-opener to some extent.
I’ve spoken before about how the club need to address the summer window, because if they are going to venture into Europe, and let’s hope that they do, they are going to need a few extra bodies to cope with the additional stress of competing on more front next season, which hopefully doesn’t mean that we suffer from ‘second season syndrome’.
I think these comments by Egan pretty much drive home the point I’ve been making, because if he is feeling tired after the games now, just imagine what it’s going to be like when you add in all the extra European games on top of it.
The problem though, as I’ve also been talking about, is getting the balance right between adding players, and keeping hold of that core of players that have got us this far. That’s going to be the big challenge going forward.
Lets concentrate on premmier league for now.
Don’t worry about Europe. United’s remaining fixtures are difficult and the reality is we will probably finish 8th. Still a tremendous success.