By full-time on Saturday, Sheffield United may have effectively confirmed their promotion to the Premier League.
If the Blades beat already relegated Ipswich Town then it will take an unrealistic swing for them to miss out.
That is because Leeds United in third trail by three points and have a minus 10 worse goal difference.
It would be the first time the South Yorkshire side have played in England’s top flight in 12 years. An ex-Blade who has more recent experience of the division has some advice for his former team.
Shaun Derry played at Bramall Lane in the late 90s and was later promoted to the Premier League with QPR in 2011.
(Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)
“When I was a player at QPR we got promoted with a similar type of dressing room and similar players as Sheffield United,” Derry told Talksport.
“We were grounded, hard-working, we fought and died for each other on the pitch.
“When we got into the Premier League it got disbanded straight away and we got loads of signings from different shores. We spent too much and it went really against us.
“I don’t think Sheffield United or Norwich need to do that and I say that because I look at the bottom half of the Premier League and I think the top six (in the Championship ) can go into the Premier league and hold their own.”
Where QPR went wrong
The R’s actually spent two years in the top flight. They narrowly avoided relegation that first season before finishing bottom in the second.
Under former Blades manager Neil Warnock they made a host of expensive signings. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anton Ferdinand and Joey Barton were among 12 new faces at Loftus Road that summer.
In January the West Londoners signed six more. While it just kept them up, as Derry points out, the team cohesion was gone. Twelve months later they were back in the Championship and financially stricken.
