Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp has confirmed he has set himself a goal target for the 2017/18 campaign and he’s already one step on the way there with his winner against Brentford on the opening day of the campaign.
Speaking to theStar having opened his account for this season, after ending last year as the highest scorer in English football, Sharp explained he was determined to now make a mark on the Championship for Sheffield United and like every year his aim is at least 20 goals.
‘I try and score 20 every year and if I don`t get there this season then I`ll be disappointed. If I stay fit and play 40-plus games, I believe I will score 20 and if I can, then it`ll help this club massively. I got off the mark against Brentford and a few more will do nicely for me and the team.’
Sharp has form in the Championship already, of his 203 career goals 79 of those came in the second tier with a rough average of one every three games and he’s certainly looking to maintain, if not improve that average.
The 31 year old went on to say.
‘I know I`m capable of playing in the Championship and scoring goals. It`s about getting myself in the right areas, and the lads will create chances for me to get on the end of.’
Linking up with Leon Clarke for his goal against Brentford, Sharp went on to say that he felt their partnership continued to build nicely, so hopefully it’ll pay off for both of them this campaign.
Clarke is also no stranger to the Championship with over 200 appearances under his belt at this level.
‘We have the experience between us. We know it`ll be harder than last season, of course, but at the back end of last season we started to develop a very good partnership – Leon looked like he was going to score every time he played, and so did I. So hopefully, we can stay fit and the boys behind us can push us because we have five or six good strikers at the club who can score goals, and we`ll need that all the way through the season – and from all over the pitch, like we had last year.’
