Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Shackles are off my Blades’
SHEFFIELD United defender Enda Stevens has revealed the shackles are off for tonight’s eagerly anticipated showdown with Manchester City.
The high-flying Blades take on the Premier League champions at the Ethiad boosted by a fine nine-game record unbeaten away run.
And Republic of Ireland star Stevens believes Chris Wilder’s ambitious side have a licence to thrill as underdogs.
“There are no shackles on any of us going out to play Manchester City,” stressed Stevens.
“With it being City away there might be more of an onus on us to defend more than usual, but you have to take the opportunities to go forward. You have to go.
“Most games away from home you have to defend, but the manager will want us on the front foot and pressing high up on the pitch. He’ll want us to win the game.
“Playing in this team gives me licence to express myself.
“I’ve got responsibilities to defend first and foremost, but it’s good to be able to have that freedom to attack.
“It’s a really positive attitude to go and play your football.
“You’ve got to be as fit as you can to survive in this league, but that comes as second nature.
“That’s the minimum you need.
“Once you are fit, I think the quality will show through. I think it has in some of our games this season.
“We’ve got strong relationships all over the pitch. We’ve played with each other for two or three years now, so we all bounce off each other.”
The Blades have won three of their last four league fixtures and only leaked two goals in the process.
And a favourable result against City would only further enhance their stock since returning to the top flight after last season’s memorable promotion.
Wilder’s team have achieved credible draws with Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United, as well as upsets over Arsenal and Everton.
And Stevens admitted: “We came into the unknown at the start of the season, but now we’re at the Christmas period we’ve settled in well.
“I don’t think we’ve been fazed by playing in the Premier League. We went to Stamford Bridge and came back from 2-0 down to draw with Chelsea, and we’ve been to Tottenham and got a result.
“But we’ll still keep the same attitude and see how the games unfold.
“We need to continue where we left off.
“We’ve put together a good run of results and we want to maintain that type of form.
“We want to maintain that drive and that attitude – and finish as high as we can.
“It’s a big occasion playing City, it’s going to the Premier League champions.
“You can see why people have watched them so much over the last few years – their brand of football and how good it is. And how enjoyable that is to watch too.
“But hopefully it won’t be too bad for us, we’ve picked up some good results, especially on the road.”