David McGoldrick has been one of the big success stories for the Blades in the last year.
The former Nottingham Forest man signed for United just last summer. After being released by Ipswich, McGoldrick joined the Blades after impressing in a trial.
Fast forward just over a year, and McGoldrick is now rubbing shoulders with the world’s best. He’s earning rave reviews off fans and has become a key man for Chris Wilder’s outfit.
However, it could have been so different for McGoldrick had he not got his head down. Speaking to the BBC yesterday ahead of the game with Manchester United, the Blades’ number 17 admitted it had been a hard slog.
“It’s a funny old game is football, as they say“, McGoldrick said.
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“The Ipswich release gave me a kick up the backside. No club, four kids, I needed to be in the game. I went and got myself fit of my own accord at St George’s Park and stayed fit waiting for the moment. That moment came at Sheffield United and luckily they took a chance on me”.
McGoldrick forged an excellent partnership with Billy Sharp last season as the Blades won promotion. He scored 15 goals and helped propel United into second, ahead of Leeds.
And the striker has revealed how as soon as he came through the door, he knew he wanted to be at Bramall Lane.
“I came here on trial. It was like a breath of fresh air. It’s been a perfect fit and I love my time here. It suits me perfectly and gone from strength to strength,” he added.
Backing himself and his manager
Despite not scoring for United as yet, McGoldrick is recognised as a key cog in the system. He’s slowly developing a partnership with Lys Mousset up top for the Blades.
Furthermore, he’s becoming integral to how attacking moves begin for United. The equaliser at Spurs last weekend, a prime example of this.
And McGoldrick admits his manager, Chris Wilder, deserves a lot of the credit for his performances.
“Not many managers would want their strikers dropping deeper than their midfielders. But the gaffer believes in me and lets me go and get the ball where I like.
“He keeps us on our toes and puts big demands on us in training. We are trying to constantly improve in everything we do”, McGoldrick added.
Although he hasn’t hit the net as yet, McGoldrick is confident in his ability, insisting he always backed himself.
“I’ve backed myself. I always knew I could play in the Prem. I just want to stay here for a long time now. It’s not about my age it’s about how you look after yourself”.
With Manchester United in town on Sunday, the time might be more important than ever for David McGoldrick to finally get his first Premier League goal.