Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We’ll not crash and McBurnie...
Blades star says their true grit shows that United can hack it at the top
SHEFFIELD UNITED hitman Oli McBurnie is confident the Premier League newcomers will continue proving their doubters wrong.
McBurnie bagged the winner as the battling Blades bounced back from successive league defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City with a hardfought 1-0 home win over West Ham on Friday.
And the Scotland international has no fears about the ambitious Yorkshire club continuing to exceed expectations, especially with manager Chris Wilder and his assistant Alan Knill having signed contract extensions until 2024.
McBurnie said: “People keep saying we’ve got the ‘new Premier League team’ vibes and we’re going to crumble soon.
“But we keep going and we keep proving people wrong. It’s nice to be sat so high in the table after Christmas.
“We want to look up, we don’t want to look down. We don’t just want to be staying up, we want to be as high up the table as we can.
“I don’t think a lot of people would have put us as high as we are, but it’s a nice feeling and we want to stay up there.
“It’s massive to know the manager and all the staff are committed to the club just as much as we the players are.
“We’ve got a great group here and we feel we’re building something special.
“The manager and the staff are a big part of that, so it’s great news for everyone at the club.”
West Ham’s French striker Sebastien Haller had an equalising goal correctly chalked off for offside on Friday, but VAR once again took centre stage as substitute Robert Snodgrass’s injury-time leveller was ruled out for a handball by Declan Rice in the build-up.
But McBurnie, who now has four Premier League goals to his name this term, is adamant Lady Luck finally deserves to shine in the Blades’ favour.
“We were gutted to begin with [after West Ham scored] but we’ve watched the little VAR screen that we have on the bench and it has hit the kid Rice’s hand in the lead up to the goal,” said former Swansea marksman McBurnie.
“It’s tough, but we know how West Ham feel because it’s happened to us on a fair few occasions this season.
“I think we were due a decision. We were definitely owed one – we’ve had eight or nine decisions taken off us this season. One in our favour is a nice feeling.
“It’s only right we get one back. We can’t be embarrassed about it.”
The Blades have now won eight and drawn eight of their 22 Premier League matches, with just six defeats since promotion back to the top tier.
And 23-year-old McBurnie believes the bruising work ethic at Bramall Lane is why the club are reaping the rewards. “The training is really tough, it’s really intense,” he said. “It’s a lot tougher than I’ve experienced before in my career.
“It’s something I had to get used to for the first couple of months, it was a really big shock to my system.
“But I’m starting to notice the rewards now. I’m starting to feel a lot stronger and fitter to play in the Premier League.
“You can’t argue with the methods, it’s working for us.
“You can see how physical and energetic the boys are, that’s what we’re all about. It’s because of the training.
“Touch wood, we’ve not had many injuries this season. The sports science team are really on to us every day with how to look after ourselves, there’s too many things to mention.
“Sheffield United have always had that. “Even for boys who might not necessarily have passed their medicals, the gaffer will take a chance – he will have the confidence in the back