Live

Repeat: Off The Ball

02:00 AM-05:00 AM

Repeat: Off The Ball
Advertisement
Soccer

Oliver Norwood and Sheffield United aiming to make history

Sheffield United midfelder Oliver Norwood thinks the current side could go down as the greatest i...



Oliver Norwood and Sheffield U...
Soccer

Oliver Norwood and Sheffield United aiming to make history

Sheffield United midfelder Oliver Norwood thinks the current side could go down as the greatest in the club's long history.

The Blades will be involved in the double header on the first day of the Premier League's return to action go to Aston Villa , on the same day Arsenal face Manchester City on 17 June.

United are still in contention to qualify for Europe next season as they lie in seventh position in the table, two points behind Manchester United in fifth and with the game in hand against Villa.

Norwood insists that is the only game they are thinking about at the moment.

"It's a strange one really because the old cliché, 'we just take each game as it comes', and we genuinely do," said Norwood.

"We're not looking at going, 'right we're going to catch them above'. We just said, 'let's just go for it in every game'.

"There was just one game, against Liverpool, when we weren't at it and they were. I think that's once out of 28 games that we weren't good enough."

"Other than that, I think we deserve to be where we are."

The EFL Cup winners qualify for the Europa League but as Manchester City are in the Premier League's top five, it means that there is an extra place for a Premier League team.

That could also be the case if a top five club wins the FA Cup.

Champions League qualification could go to the fifth place team if Manchester City are unsuccessful in their appeal against the two-year ban from European competition at the Court of Arbitration for Sport between 8-10 June 8.

Norwood believes that qualifying for either competition would be a historic achievement for Chris Wilder's newly promoted team.

"We've picked up points that put us in a position [to qualify for Europe]," added Norwood.

"As footballers and a group we might never get this opportunity again to have a chance of tasting European football in our careers so we've got to give it everything we've got.

"We've got to be focused. We've got to make sure that we're still living by the lockdown rules and make sure that we're all available for selection and give ourselves the best opportunity of [being] the greatest team in Sheffield United's history.

"If you want to be part of that, there it is."

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.