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00:00Just first of all, some follow-ups from Monday.
00:03Have you kind of heard any more around the pitch invasion
00:05and from the authorities and what clearly happened after the game?
00:09Yeah, I got a call from the LM8 seeing if I was OK
00:13because that's my union and they protect managers.
00:18I think the coaches got their call from their union
00:21and the players as well regarding the incidents that happened.
00:27And understandable in terms of celebrations,
00:32but I think just the organisation around it all
00:35and the protection, you know, the club's had history recently
00:39with Sharpie two or three years ago.
00:42So the FA as well have asked the club for their observations
00:48regarding the incident and will reply honestly and openly as we always do.
00:53In general, though, players, management in situations like this,
00:58there's got to be a solution found, hasn't there?
01:00Because if supporters are charging on the pitch,
01:03like we saw with Billy, incidents can happen.
01:05People's safety has to be a higher priority, surely?
01:08Oh, 100%.
01:09I totally understand the star nature of the evening.
01:14And would it have been the same at Bramall Lane?
01:17Yeah, I've actually been in it and around it.
01:19I think obviously when the talk before is the arrangements leading up
01:26to that situation to prevent that going out the window,
01:33I think that's possibly the situation that needs clearing up really.
01:38But I totally understand the celebrations, the euphoria around a team
01:46that gets promoted and not taking anything away from any of the Burnley players
01:54or any negativity towards the Burnley players or Scott or his staff,
02:00you know, deserved promotion on 31 games unbeaten and 94 points
02:09and an opportunity to get into 100 points, which I talked about on my post-game interview.
02:15So I congratulated them, the way we've all acted
02:19and the players at the end towards their players.
02:22So, but, you know, as I said, when things get set up before
02:27and it doesn't materialise and you've seen,
02:31everybody's seen all the clips on social media,
02:34so not on me now or our players or our football club to deal with it.
02:42It's left with other people.
02:44You've obviously seen first-hand Burnley celebrations.
02:47I imagine you'll have seen Leeds' celebrations as well this week.
02:50Is that providing a little extra motivation to join them?
02:54Yeah, I don't need any of that.
02:56I'm a big boy.
02:58You give it, you take it.
02:59You give it out locally, you take it locally, as I've always done.
03:03So we have our moments, or the teams have their moments.
03:07I had a conversation with Pat yesterday as well.
03:09So absolutely no issue.
03:11Patrick Bamford, that is.
03:12Yeah, no issue at all with it.
03:14I'm not sure about the words used from a fellow pro,
03:20but I appreciated and respected him giving me a call.
03:26And we had 20 minutes.
03:28And same again, I spoke to Daniel as well yesterday
03:32and had a half an hour chat with him.
03:34And he's a super guy, top guy.
03:36And they're a top team and a top football club.
03:39So like I said, I'm a big boy.
03:42And I would, in a heartbeat, have swapped our position for theirs.
03:49But it isn't the case.
03:51And as I keep going on about, you know, 94 points for both of those teams
03:55is an incredible achievement.
03:57And the ability to go and get 100 points.
03:59So it's been a tough campaign.
04:01It was a tough campaign from the off for us.
04:04And we've kept it alive to the 44th game.
04:07So, but ultimately we've finished in the position that we will finish in.
04:14And over now to the other sort of questions that you're going to ask me
04:21regarding, I suppose, the last two games of the season,
04:25our approach, and then into, obviously, the doom and gloom of the playoffs.
04:31Well, we'll cover that in a second.
04:33Just to box that last bit off,
04:34would football be boring without the banter and the rivalries
04:38and the back and forth?
04:40100%.
04:41I think, you know, from my character,
04:45don't just sit here and reel out, roll out the boring things.
04:54You ask, you want to dig deep into what this club is about.
04:58You want to dig deep into what my thought process is about.
05:02And as I've said, you know, you have to, it's a big boys game.
05:06So when I was playing, we used to give it and we used to take it.
05:10And that's part and parcel of the game at every level and even on a Sunday morning.
05:14So that's part of the interesting bit of the game as well.
05:20Local rivalries, rivalries between teams, players, and everything that goes with it all.
05:29So I've got absolutely no issue.
05:31You know, as I said, I'm, you know, when you give it, you take it, you have to take it, you have to get on with it.
05:39And that's, I'm absolutely cool with it.
05:41And I said that, I said that to Pat yesterday.
05:43You know, we had our moment in, in, in 18, 19, possibly off the back of an incredible afternoon against Ipswich Town at home and a long, long night and, and an early start.
06:00And they've done exactly the same.
06:02And I've got absolutely no issue with them.
06:05And I've been doing exactly the same in terms of enjoying themselves because to get promotion is an incredible achievement.
06:13It's not a given.
06:15And you have to do a lot of things right.
06:17And we've done a lot of things right this season and gone close.
06:21And we're going to have to do some more things right between now and the end of the season.
06:23And because of what I talked about after the game and then, and then going again.
06:29So, you know, let's, I don't think anybody should, should just, I don't know what words I'm looking for.
06:40Acceptance that it's, it's a given is promotion by any team.
06:47Leeds United at the start of the season would be odds on favourites.
06:53Size of the club, budget, wage bill, history, players that they've got, managers experience, odds on.
07:01But they didn't win it in, in March.
07:03They've not, they've won it, not won it by 20 points.
07:06They've, they've, it's not like a Birmingham City situation in, in, in, in League One where they've just absolutely steamrolled.
07:15They've, they've been outstanding and so have Burnley all season, but they've both had their moments.
07:20And ultimately, you know, it was always going to be, in my opinion, because of how the championship is and how difficult division it is to win and to win consistently.
07:35And to handle everything that comes with a, with a nine-month season and all the challenges that get put in front of you.
07:40It was always, it was always, it was always going to be a, a, a, a difficult campaign for every, for everybody.
07:48As seen in terms of the league positions of other teams as well.
07:50So, so don't underestimate what you have to do and how, how hard you work and then how hard you, you party afterwards when, when you, you, you manage to get over the line.
08:01And, and as I said, going on what I said on, on Monday night, congratulations to both teams, both outstanding sets of players and managers and, and fully deserved the positions that they're in.
08:17So, as you mentioned, two more games to go. Some have suggested lots of changes. Some have suggested putting the kids in. You have a very successful under-21 team, as we've, we've seen this week.
08:29I suspect you might not do that. What, what's your, what's your thought process on these, these last two games and how are you going to manage your squad before the playoffs?
08:35The thought process doesn't change whether it's a pre-season friendly or it's, it's a 45th game of the season or 46th game.
08:42We'll prepare, as we've always done, to win the game of football. There's a few situations we've got to take in, take into account.
08:48Take into account, we have a few injuries, bumps and bruises that, that we've sort of covered up really over, over the last sort of two or three weeks.
09:00Not wanting to show our hand, but now I think you'll see that, you know, there's a couple of players that, that need a rest.
09:08A couple might need a rest mentally as well to refreshen them up.
09:11We need to get match minutes into some of the boys that, that have, that haven't played recently.
09:17It's not going to be wholesale changes, but we need to get into a rhythm as well.
09:23So we don't need to disrupt that.
09:25As always, the young players need to deserve the right to play.
09:32What I will say about the 21s, I'm not taking anything away from them.
09:36They've, they've had an outstanding campaign, but no disrespect.
09:38They're playing Colchester under 21s on Tuesday afternoon.
09:42And I should imagine all the young players at Colchester, the good ones will be in the first team.
09:47So we need to get up to cap one to challenge the, the competition at the moment for the 21s.
09:56They're doing everything right and you can only beat what's in front of you, but they need bigger challenges.
10:01The players need bigger challenges.
10:03The club needs a bigger challenge as well.
10:04So I've talked about this for, for a long time that goes hand in hand with the, with the training ground and the improvement in that for the first team,
10:14which the owners understand and recognize.
10:18And obviously the purchase of door is massive for us and the knock-on effects of that in terms of going to a cap one category.
10:25Now we're playing the likes of the teams that we should be playing.
10:31And then it's a step up and then that'll be an improvement for those players.
10:35But, you know, Ryan only must probably be involved towards, towards the next two games of the, two games of the season.
10:43But all the other things I've got to factor in and, you know, we want to, there's a couple of things as well.
10:50I want to break, break the club record of, of points, points in, in the championship.
10:56Um, and, um, from an EFL point of view as well, because I, I think the players deserve that, um, for the campaign that, that they've had.
11:06And, uh, we'll be going all out.
11:07Yeah, we've got two difficult games, but every game in the championship is difficult.
11:10We've got a team that's, that's still in a situation.
11:13Um, so I think sometimes that puts it into perspective, you know, a club that's, was in the Premier League for a long, long time.
11:22Um, and the facilities they've got and the stature of the club in the division are still not safe, uh, in terms of dropping into, into League One.
11:31Do I think they will be?
11:32Yeah.
11:33And, you know, I like the club.
11:36Um, um, Mark Robbins is somebody I've known for a long time and, um, done a, done a great job wherever he's gone.
11:42And I'm sure they will.
11:43Um, but for me, I'm, I'm, I'm all in for, for three points for Sheffield United, as I've all been all in for three points for Sheffield United since the day I walked through the door.
11:53Yeah, they've, they've been down seven years now and they've not finished above 14th in the table.
11:58Does that kind of show just how difficult the championship can be and that you can't just throw money at it necessarily and expect success?
12:07Well, yeah, I mean, and they've got, they've obviously, I think we all know they've got, um, supportive owners as well.
12:14That would, would love the opportunity of, but, you know, financial fair play and, and the rules on, on that.
12:22But I think, you know, when, when people, when, when even internally supporters think this is just, um, an easy achievement to go straight back up, there's your answer.
12:35Yeah, absolutely, in a, in a, in a, in a nutshell, how difficult it is.
12:41There was your answer in 2016 when, um, the situation, if it was easy, United would have been into League One and straight back out again.
12:51But it's not the case and it's not the case in the championship.
12:55So when people just think that, you know, uh, we've dropped out of the Premier League, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, we're straight back up.
13:03Uh, and, yeah, dear me, everybody's let each other down, let us down.
13:07I'm not so sure that's, that'll always be the case with, um, with, with some supporters.
13:13And I think that'll be the case with, you know, I should imagine they'll be even at the very, very top level.
13:18Um, um, always, always be the case.
13:21But, um, I think when you, when you, um, identify situations like you've, you've just identified for Stoke City, um, they love the opportunity of, of, of, of, of challenging the top.
13:33Top two right the way through the season.
13:35They love the opportunity of getting into 90 points and love the opportunity of, uh, of getting out of the division through the playoffs.
13:41So, um, and then add on what went off last year, um, as I talked about, um, the culture change, the, um, sort of, the real low of the season before, um, and you can slide.
13:59And we haven't slid, um, and we've been competitive.
14:03Um, yeah, it hurts that we've, we've not pushed it to the 45th game or, or the 46th game.
14:08And I said, you know, I've talked about it.
14:10I think it would have, you know, I still think that it, you know, it would have took 95, you know, 95, 96 points to get up.
14:18Um, so, uh, it's not easy.
14:21Um, so, uh, off the back of that, um, you know, uh, all the other stuff at the start of the season, uh, learning their job, new players coming into it, absolutely putting a new team together.
14:34So, uh, I know where I'm at with it, 100%, and, uh, I know, um, where a majority of our super loyal fans are, um, and understand it.
14:44But, like you said, Stoke City, and there's, there's, there's more examples, um, you know, uh, more examples, uh, of, of, of, of, of, of clubs who, uh, have found it a struggle.
14:56But we're fighting, and we're punching, and we're back ourselves, um, and, um, but what I want is all the things that I've talked about.
15:03I want us to be a winning football club, um, regardless of the hurdles and the obstacles that have been put in our way this season, and what we've overcome.
15:10And we've overcome the majority of them.
15:13And, uh, we're going to have to overcome some more between, uh, now and, uh, and, and hopefully, um, the middle of May.
15:21Tom Davis, could he be involved in these last couple?
15:23Yeah, yeah, he trained yesterday.
15:26Um, we'll see how he rocks up today.
15:28And, uh, we'll make a decision if he's going to be involved on Friday, but he'll be definitely involved against Blackburn.
15:36And something that kind of got lost in everything else on Monday was your 300th game in charge of Sheffield United Football Club.
15:44What does that mean to you?
15:46Yeah, it means a lot, but it was irrelevant, really, because I've got to say, um, it got flagged up to me by, by Kev.
15:53Um, didn't really know where it was, and it got forgotten about pretty quickly.
15:58Um, um, listened to, listened and watched a Mourinho documentary, and, uh, uh, he wants to win, um, medals.
16:09Um, collecting medals and collecting trophies and putting them on his mantelpiece is nothing.
16:15He just wants to win, um, and I just want to win.
16:17I want to win for my football club.
16:19Still going to be here in 300 games time?
16:22Uh, I'm not sure about that.
16:24Uh, I doubt it very much so.
16:26Um, it's quite a punishing, punishing job.
16:29It's incredibly rewarding, incredibly tough as well.
16:32Um, and, um, to factor everything in as being a football manager, uh, but my determination, um, enthusiasm is as big as it's ever been to achieve.
16:46Um, and, um, and, um, it's, uh, you know, and, and you pointed it out, Adam, you know, we felt it, we've, we've lived it, we've worn it when, when you win.
16:58Um, um, we're always chasing that feeling, whether it's a game, whether it's a season, uh, I'm always achieving, I'm always chasing that feeling, um, and, um, and we're still chasing it coming into, uh, into, uh, these next three or four weeks.
17:22So, um, personal accolades put aside for, for club, club success, 100% always.
17:32Cheers.
17:34Morning, Chris.
17:35Morning.
17:35Um, he talks about Daniel there just up the road, up the, up the M1.
17:39I mean, he gets promoted on Monday, wakes up Tuesday morning with a bit of a hangover, I imagine, and there's talk about his job.
17:45He'll be a manager.
17:47Yeah, I, I, I, I get it.
17:49Um, uh, it, it, it has changed.
17:53The game has, the game has changed on a, on a, on a lot of fronts.
17:55So, uh, I think we've talked about, you know, expectations and, and, and everything.
18:01So, uh, I think we all understand, um, the, uh, the negative part of the job.
18:06Um, but yeah, I had a half hour conversation with Dan, uh, and, uh, enjoyed my conversation with him.
18:12And, uh, um, he's a good guy, uh, and he's, uh, he's, you know, it's a great achievement.
18:19Um, by him, because that's, uh, that isn't a straightforward football club.
18:23It's got a lot of things going for it, load of things going for it.
18:27But there is, there is pressure, um, on, on, on all of us, um, at different levels.
18:33Um, I should imagine he has the most to deal with, um, the good things that, that come
18:41with it are offset by, by the other parts of it.
18:44And, um, uh, but yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, to, to, to football people, that's a, uh, a,
18:54a ridiculous idea or, or, or, um, approach or decision to, uh, to, to football people internally.
19:04Um, but maybe externally, these are things that, that do happen and, uh, and everybody
19:09has to, uh, has to deal with it and, uh, and understand it.
19:13Yeah.
19:13You talked about situations that you're having to manage in the last couple of games with injuries
19:17and fitness is Gus one, because he's two game two, sorry, two bookings away from a, a three
19:23match band.
19:23You obviously don't want to miss him for the playoffs.
19:25Is that into your mind at all?
19:26Is that a concern or are you just happy to trust him and let him do his thing?
19:31Yeah, it's in, it's in our thought process.
19:34A lot of things we had, um, we had two meetings over the last two days, some really long ones
19:39preparing us for the next two games, preparing us for, for, um, scenarios, um, preparing us
19:46for the playoff.
19:47I think there was clarity after the Burnley game, which was a good thing.
19:50Um, and there was a lot, there was a load of energy in the players coming in.
19:54I think they, you know, they understand, you know, uh, and quickly got over, um, Monday
19:59night and quickly focused, you know, I did, you know, talk to them about the importance
20:04of finishing the season off on a high, um, especially with our last home game.
20:09Um, I want us to go into that with some more points on the, on the board and I want,
20:14I would definitely want to win our last home game in front of our supporters, um, 100%.
20:18So, um, there's all sorts of things that we talked about.
20:23Um, that was one of them, um, injuries, minutes to, to key players, um, our approach to it.
20:31Um, um, but there was, there was an energy, there was a clarity, um, and, um, and there
20:38was, there was a confidence about us as well.
20:42Um, um, of course, 100% would have loved to have been in that position on Monday night
20:46that both of the clubs, um, uh, experienced.
20:51That's what you, you, you, you live for.
20:52That's, that's why you, you, you're in, you're in the game.
20:55Uh, you know, I think I did talk to you about it, Dan, that, you know, even, even in the
21:00Premier League, um, we always believed we could go and win the game of football.
21:05Yeah.
21:05And we have to have that.
21:07And now we have to, we have to believe.
21:09Um, I think that, listen, I think that the conversation regarding, regarding the playoffs
21:15and the negativity surrounding it from our club, especially, I think I'll deal with it.
21:20I'll deal with that maybe down, maybe down the line, maybe too early to, to deal with
21:23it now, uh, but putting the players in a, in a positive mindset, um, which I believe
21:28we have, we've got winners in the, in the, in the football club, uh, um, from coaches
21:34and managers to players.
21:35They still want to win.
21:36They still want to achieve and their dream together.
21:39As long as that's, that's still strong.
21:42Um, their bond together, um, is still incredibly strong.
21:47I thought the performance was a strong performance on Monday night.
21:50I really did.
21:51It was, you know, a lot of the narrative was that we've gone and that soles and it'd be
21:54pretty much a, a straightforward game.
21:57It wasn't a straightforward game.
21:58We have to tidy up defensively.
22:00It's a poor penalty to give away in at that time when we've got ourselves back into the
22:04game.
22:06The first goal was unfortunate, comes through and Kiefer tries to get his head on it and
22:10clears it and rebounds.
22:12And to be fair to Josh Brown, who's done that all season, it's a great finish.
22:17But I thought we've, we've, we started the game well.
22:19We fought our way back into the game well.
22:21Um, it was kicking the nuts in terms of going in, into halftime, 2-1 down.
22:26And I thought our attitude to the game second half was pretty good.
22:30Um, we need to be more controlled late on in games.
22:34Um, don't chase it.
22:36Don't go for wonder, wonder balls.
22:38Don't sort of, um, force the issue in a way, in a way, attitude wise force the issue, which
22:45I believe we did.
22:46And we put them on the back foot.
22:47Um, but in terms of the momentum and the quality in and around their area in the final third,
22:52you know, we have to find those big moments.
22:55Um, and, and hopefully learn from that game as well.
22:58We've played in a big game.
22:59The top three teams are the top three teams.
23:02The top two teams are the ones that have achieved at the moment.
23:05And, um, and us from our point of view, we'll, we'll potentially finish, what, 15 to 20 points
23:12clear of, of, uh, of the sixth place that we'd be playing.
23:15So I know that doesn't guarantee you anything, but it should give you a confidence that us
23:20at our best will be a difficult proposition for the team that finishes six.
23:25Um, but as I said, maybe for another time to talk about, about the pluses and the negatives
23:31of all, uh, of all, uh, that scenario.
23:33I was wondering, is that going back to the point, is that something that you've addressed
23:37with, with Gus?
23:38Because he, he picks up some pretty cheap yellow cards, doesn't it?
23:41Everyone loves what he does on the ball.
23:42I know you don't want to take that sort of passion away from him and that part of his
23:46game, but is there a sort of balance to be?
23:48Yeah, he needs to control a little bit more.
23:50I think, you know, you, you, you look at it and you would say possibly 50% of them are
23:54avoidable.
23:55Um, so, um, you know, we have to, we have to deal with that.
23:59Uh, and he understands that we can't miss our best, our best player, uh, and our biggest
24:03player.
24:03We've got some good players, but, you know, arguably he's our best player.
24:07Um, so we can't afford to him, to have him on a, on a yellow card early on and, uh, and miss
24:13games of football through the season.
24:14But, um, if the trade-off is, is having players like that, that care, that want to run around,
24:22that want to compete, that want to win, then, then I'll err on that side more than the passive
24:29ones that, that we've had, um, in the, uh, in the recent, uh, past.
24:35Of course.
24:35Um, Tyrese spoke this week about, I mean, nobody needs any added motivation to go to the
24:40Premier League, but he has that little bit more in terms of his dad and making his dad
24:43proud.
24:43He spoke about that quite well this week.
24:45It'd be a big day for him, wouldn't it, going back to, to Stoke tomorrow?
24:48I think there's stories right the way through, you know, there's always, there's always
24:52backstories in, in, in everything, in, in, in, in every, every one of the players.
24:56So, uh, but of course he's, he's been outstanding, you know, free transfer at the start of the
25:02season, we've had to manage his minutes, we still manage his minutes a little bit as
25:05well.
25:06So we have to keep him fresh and give him minutes as well, um, between, uh, between what
25:12happens at Stoke and what happens at Blackburn as well.
25:14We've, uh, we've got to be smart on, uh, on that front and clever.
25:19Uh, so there's a lot of things that we've got to, got to do over the next, uh, 10 days.
25:24Uh, but Tyrese has had a positive.
25:26It's a positive season, really positive.
25:28And we're all delighted as a popular member of the, of the group.
25:30And he has, he's contributed to, uh, to our wins and our position in the table and our points
25:37tally.
25:37Um, and, uh, he's got a big part to play between now and the end of the season.
25:41But I think, you know, if we do achieve, there'll be all sorts of stories that will, that will
25:45be coming out.
25:45And he's obviously, he's, he's, uh, he's a fabulous one with his, uh, with his old man and,
25:50uh, and, and the career that he had in, uh, in the Premier League.
25:54Yeah.
25:54I know you talked about addressing the playoffs further down the line, but tomorrow is a
25:58hundred years to the day since United last won at Wembley, which is a crazy amount of
26:03time, isn't it?
26:03For a club this size, how sort of poetic would it be to sort of end that, that hoodoo this
26:08year?
26:08Yeah, it's a bit of work to, to be done before, before then to finish, to close the season,
26:12close the season now as, as I've talked about, but yeah, quick one on that.
26:17It's, it's, uh, you know, the playoffs, uh, is, is, it is what it is.
26:22There's no guarantees, but this is a new group of players.
26:25It's irrelevant, uh, our history in the playoffs.
26:28It's super important in my, in my opinion that, uh, going into the playoffs, we understand
26:34when we go away from home, there'll be a complete sellout and a hostile, uh, environment that,
26:41um, that we'll be going into and it needs to be replicated at Bramall Lane 100% to give
26:48us the best opportunity of, um, um, achieving, um, uh, a win at Wembley, but I, I'm, um, you
27:00know, I'm, I'm, I'm consistent with this right, right the way through.
27:03And I, and I said to you after the game on, um, on, on, on Monday night, Dan, club's been
27:09here from what, 18, 89.
27:13Yeah.
27:13Whatever it is.
27:14Yeah.
27:15And unless, yeah, unless summer happens that,
27:18nobody wants to happen and, uh, and the game ceases to become the game and Sheffield United
27:23ceases to become a football club, it's going to be here for another 130, 140, 150 years.
27:29And this football club will win a playoff campaign.
27:33Will win it without a shadow of a doubt.
27:35Will win a playoff, playoff campaign, uh, just as much as Newcastle won a, a cup final
27:40at Wembley and other things that we'll, we'll add.
27:43It's there, it's there for us to change.
27:44Um, and, uh, and of course a lot of work to be done before.
27:49I want to finish the season off on a high, uh, uh, want to go into the, the, uh, the playoffs
27:54on the front foot, um, with a load of energy, with players refreshed now knowing exactly what
28:00we need to do.
28:01And, uh, as everybody says, if we manage to get through to the final, um, you know,
28:06the, uh, the reward, uh, and most importantly, the experience, uh, and the things that come
28:12along with that in terms of what you've, um, alluded to.
28:16I hope it's not another, I hope it's not another hundred years before we win there.
28:20Well, yeah, let's not, let's, uh, let's not go down that road.
28:23Let's go.