Blades ready for mental challenge
OLIVER NORWOOD says football teams “don’t have the success we have had without having failures”, and how Sheffield United respond to their sluggish restart to the season will dictate how it finishes.
The Blades have drawn 0-0 at Villa Park and lost 3-0 at Newcastle United since football returned from its coronavirus hibernation.
The result at Villa could have been different had Norwood’s free-kick goal not incorrectly been ruled out because of a technological failure, but it was the manner of two performances manager Chris Wilder called “bang average” which has been more troubling.
Even so, victory at Old Trafford tonight would move them above the Red Devils and possibly into fifth, which could be a Champions League spot, with eight games to play. It is important, therefore, that the players react, and Norwood is confident they will.
“It was evident early on (in Norwood’s Bramall Lane career) that we have a lot of good people in the dressing room,” said the midfielder who came through Manchester United’s academy without playing for the first team. “Sharpy (captain Billy Sharp) obviously, Phil Jagielka, Chris Basham, Enda Stevens, George Baldock, John Egan – you can go through the team, John Lundstram, John
Fleck – everybody in a different way is a leader in there. It genuinely does hurt us when we do lose and we play like we did (at Newcastle). It is not as if we are going: ‘Ah well it’ll be okay’.
“The one thing we have got is a group that want to do well and who will come back. You don’t have the success we have had without having failures.”
As for how the players will react, Norwood explained: “There’s no inspirational talks or anything like that. We know each other as people and what turns people on and off and we speak a lot. We’ve got each other’s backs and support each other.
“It’s great and easy when everything is going well. When the stuff hits the fan, that’s when you find out about your teammates and who cares and every single player at Sheffield United
cares. It’s not crisis time. We lost a game of football, the first since Manchester City (in January). We accept the performance wasn’t good enough and it probably wasn’t at Villa as well, but we got a point there with all the stuff that was going on.
“We’ll get around each other and make sure we’re ready to go because there’s no point moping about what could have been. We can’t affect Newcastle now, that’s gone. They beat us 3-0, see you later. This is an exciting challenge and one we’ll relish.”
Centre-back Egan is suspended tonight after being sent off at St James’s Park, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson is unavailable to face the club he is on loan from. Jack O’Connell, who played every Premier League minute in the back three before the pandemic, is struggling with injury.
There are, then, excuses for a side who will be playing their third away game in a week, but Norwood is not interested.
“At Villa in the first game back, we travelled on the day which we wouldn’t normally do,” he said. “We travelled on three buses, so we were not all sat together as a team. Villa found the furthest point of the stadium to incorporate social distancing and it was a 10-minute walk to get back to the dressing room and up three flights of stairs. They have got to make it as awkward as possible.
“You have got different kick off times and playing every 72 hours. You have got to be right physically and mentally and it’s the new normal for us.
“It is strange but it cannot affect performances. We’re not going to blame that.
“We’ve been a little bit flat and need to find a way to shake ourselves as a group and as individuals, we need to find a way to pick our levels up.
“Physically we’ve been fine and the numbers we are told by the sports science staff are good and where we would be in a game. I think it is the mental side where we need to adapt quickly as we don’t want this season to peter out and just end up mid-table.
“We have worked ever so hard to put ourselves in the position we have and want to pick up. It is difficult, I am not going to sit here and lie and say the games have been brilliant. They have been poor and as a group we have got to accept that and find a way of shaking ourselves and finding some form.
“We’ve had a great season. We pride ourselves on recovering after a setback.
“We did it in the Championship and are looking to do it now – there’s no point feeling sorry for yourselves.
“Without being blase about it, we lost a game of football and deservedly because we weren’t good enough.
“But we won’t mope about and but we’ll pick each other up and look to go again.”
Last six games: Manchester United DWWWDW; Sheffield United LDWDDW. Referee: A Taylor (Manchester).
Last time: Manchester United 1 Sheffield United 0, January 9, 2016, FA Cup.
When it hits the fan, that’s when you find out about everybody. Sheffield United midfielder Oliver Norwood on the need for unity.