John junior going places with Blades.. but Dad will always be the family superstar

AS huge as winning promotion to the Premier League would be for Sheffield United’s John Egan, he claims he will never be bigger than his late dad.

Egan’s father, who was also called John, is a Gaelic football legend and helped Kerry win four successive All-Ireland titles in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

He died in 2012 and Egan helped unveil a statue of him, two years ago in his home village of Sneem, to commemorate his glorious achievements.

Egan, 26, says dad John will be looking down on him today as United seek the win against Ipswich at Bramall Lane, which would effectively seal automatic promotion to the top flight.

“I’ll never be more famous than the ‘Big Dog’,” smiled Egan. “He’ll always be No.1.

“Every time there’s a bit of success in my career, he’s the first person I think about. I would love him to be there on Saturday.

“But I know he’s looking down at me, definitely. That’s the main thing. I know I was really lucky to have him as my dad.”

Egan’s mum, Mary, was also a successful sportswoman and won the Irish Cup with Cork Rangers.

“There’s also my mum, I can’t forget about her!” said the Republic of Ireland international. “She has an Irish Cup medal to her name.

“She was only telling me that Thursday morning, when she gave me a buzz. She was on the soccer side of the family.

“That’s where I got it from... or so she says!”

Promotion would justify Egan’s decision to quit Brentford to join the Blades last summer for £4million, and he knew they were going places under manager Chris Wilder.

“I just felt something good was happening here,” added the centre-half, who has helped United keep 20 clean sheets.

“I wanted to get promoted. We’re nearly there but, until that dream is a reality, you have to remain focused. You can’t take anything for granted.”