Blades know they have to be sharp
Sheffield United defender John Egan says getting to the FA Cup semi-final is more important than the day out at Wembley that comes withit.
The Blades take on Championship rivals, Blackburn Rovers, in their quarter-final tie at Bramall Lane, knowing a win would send them to the national stadium.
But Egan, part of the Blades squad that has made it to the last eight for the third time in four seasons, says that is not the defining part of victory.
“It is probably a bigger carrot to get to the semifinal than to Wembley,” he said.
“We want to progress to the next round. You have seen our cup games so far, where we had a couple of close games against Wrexham and then beat Tottenham. Every game has been close.
“Sometimes you go on a cup run, and you get to a quarter-final and it opens up a bit. The main focus is to get to the semi-final. We have put ourselves in this position.
“It is a really good competition and, no matter who you are playing, there is always a different feel to it.
“We have done well to the quarter-final and now we’re looking to get another result.”
The Blades hope that their most recent league meeting with Blackburn, where they lost 1-0 at Ewood Park, has no bearing on events at Bramall Lane.
Egan will head off on international duty with the Republic of Ireland after the match, and reckons there will be no secrets today.
He said: “They know us well, and we know them. We have played each other twice already in the league.
“We want to get through to the semi-final, but to do that, we have to turn up and play at our maximum.”