Former Sheffield United defender, Chris Morgan, believes the Blades can finally relax and focus on the last third of the season after drawing level on games with playoff rivals Middlesbrough.
Much has been made of United’s lack of fixtures over the festive period in 2021. That has left the Blades with games in hand on most teams around them, including former manager Chris Wilder’s Boro side. Following last night’s draw with Hull City at The Lane, the Blades now sit two points behind the northeast side.
United do, of course, still have games in hand on both QPR and Huddersfield in the top six, as well as next week’s visitors, Blackburn Rovers. But it is the fight with former boss Wilder and Middlesbrough which is catching the eye.
However, according to Chris Morgan, the fact United have now played that game in hand on Boro could be a positive for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
“They’ve played well (against Hull). And you know sometimes, when people keep talking about having games in hand and if we can that, I think in many ways, you get the monkey off your back,” Morgan told SUTV.
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“We’re level now. Get them games out of the way. Because you always think if I can get three points there or three points there, that levels it up. The amount of times teams are in that position and don’t make any use of it. But that’s it now, it’s done. The race is on.”
United face Swansea City and Blackburn in quick succession at home before a tricky away trip to Millwall follows.
Our View: Pressure Not Completely Off For United
There will always be an element of pressure at Sheffield United. Even more so, now we are back in the Championship and fans have witnessed what can be done following that memorable PL season.
Morgan does make a good point about Middlesbrough and the games in hand, though. For the obvious reasons, the fight with Boro has taken centre stage. However, United aren’t far off chasing down those teams in third and fourth. The Blades have two games in hand still on Blackburn and if they win them both, they’d be a point off Rovers.
Therefore, there is still that element of pressure with games in the bank for United. This next few weeks is huge and you do get the sense that if the playoffs are going to happen, then picking up wins in the next 4-5 fixtures will be massive.