RECORD-BREAKER BILLY: I’LL STAY ON TARGET AT BLADES

JON WEST

BY

BILLY SHARP says he has no regrets about being a Championship record breaker and a Premier League footnote.

The Sheffield United striker turns 36 on Saturday having already celebrated becoming the second tier’s all-time top marksman since it rebranded in 2004.

It was a trademark Sharp strike too – a chesting-down of a rebound off a defender right in front of goal and a quick swivel to find the bottom corner.

That was number 122 at this level, putting him one ahead of David Nugent, with Ross McCormack, Jordan Rhodes, Lewis Grabban and Chris Martin also members of this particular Hundred Club.

This is Sharp’s third spell as a Blade in a career that has seen him bag 241 league goals for eight different clubs across four divisions.

That is more than Ian Wright and Andy Cole, and he is now closing in on Ian Rush and Kevin Phillips – but only six of those goals have been in the Premier League.

Skipper Sharp (top) said: “I don’t regret anything in my career – everyone grows up and learns lessons in life.

“I do think that if I’d been a bit better with things I may have played in the Premier League for a little bit longer, but it just wasn’t to be. I’m a Championship striker who scored a few goals in the Premier League and I’m very proud of that.

“I know where I am and I’ll keep trying to score goals in the Championship.”

The “things” were the off-field preparations he did not take seriously until his mid-20s.

“I’ve gone from six beers a night to three,” he joked.

“But really we are talking about training hard in every session, not just before a game, and doing stretches.”

Not until a switch to Southampton in 2012 did the fitness penny drop, but now he intends to carry on scoring for the club he loves for the rest of the season and, through a contract extension, 2022-23 as well.

He added: “The gaffer has said he wants me to be here next season so, hopefully, I can keep myself fit, have a good summer and get in the team again.”

The win – sealed by sub Callum Morton’s own goal diversion of Chris Basham’s back-post header in the 81st minute – pushed Paul Heckingbottom’s side a little bit closer to the play-off slots.

Peterborough can have no complaints about the outcome of a contest that would have lifted them out of the drop zone had they won.

They fashioned only one decent chance all game, but Blades keeper Wes Foderingham denied Jonson Clarke-Harris just before half-time when the game was scoreless.

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson said: “We’ve got a pivotal month coming up and we need to beat the teams that are around us.”