"That was special" - Chris Basham drops Sheffield United claim as Blades head to Wembley | OneFootball

The Blades were dominant over two legs against Bristol City

Former Sheffield United cult hero Chris Basham described the Blades' play-off semi-final second leg over Bristol City as "special" as Wembley awaits his old club.

Chris Wilder's side held a 3-0 advantage from the first leg at Ashton Gate last Thursday, and became Championship play-off record-breakers, ending the two-legged affair with a 6-0 aggregate scoreline thanks to goals from Kieffer Moore, Gustavo Hamer and Callum O'Hare, with the latter scoring once more off the bench as United head to North London on May 24th.

Basham was in attendance for the encounter as part of Sky Sports' panel alongside fellow ex-Blade Michael Brown and Curtis Davies and was left blown away by the atmosphere inside Bramall Lane, as the South Yorkshire side look to break their well-documented play-off curse.

They will take on either Sunderland or Coventry City, who meet for their second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night with the Black Cats holding a slender 2-1 advantage from the first clash at the CBS Arena.

Chris Basham reacts as Sheffield United book place in Championship play-off final

Basham was an integral part of the journey Blades supporters went on during Wilder's first spell in charge, having been at the club for two years prior to the 57-year-old's first appointment back in 2016, as the boyhood fan delivered two promotions in three seasons which saw the club rise from League One to as high as ninth in the Premier League.

The 36-year-old's career spanned 542 games, of which 394 came whilst donning the famous red and white stripes as he achieved three promotions under the current boss and Paul Heckingbottom, as well as reaching an FA Cup semi-final in April 2023 before announcing his retirement last August after suffering a serious leg injury against Fulham during the early stages of last season.

Unsurprisingly, the Blades are still very close to Basham's heart, and that was made even clearer as he took to Instagram to congratulate the current crop of players, many of whom he played alongside, as well as praising the vast majority of the 26,543 crowd for the atmosphere generated.

"That was special last night onto Wembley amazing performance and atmosphere well done everyone," he said.

Chris Wilder praises Sheffield United supporters for Bristol City atmosphere

The aforementioned Blades boss also gave kudos to the supporters for the atmosphere, particularly in the second half, as any hopes of a dramatic comeback from the Robins were quashed whilst United continued to show their dominance.

When asked if he could take in the second half after such a luxurious advantage was established, Wilder said: "The atmosphere tonight was incredible.

"I talked about the punters giving us energy, because we needed it. There's some tired legs out there, it's a long, old season. 48 games we've played now," he added.

"But, the energy the players had was driven by the supporters, and it was a great environment to play in late on."

"It looks a pretty straightforward two games but it hasn't been, as we all know. The biggest thing was just getting the job done, and that's what we've obviously done," he added.

Wilder also paid tribute to the fans for their continued remembrance of former right-back, George Baldock, who, like Basham, was part of the club's initial rise from the third-tier and into the top flight before achieving a third promotion two seasons ago, featuring 219 times for the club.

"I looked around and looked at how everybody was on their feet and what they think about the player," he continued.

"It's mind-blowing what everybody's had to go through. Obviously, most importantly his family. We represented George in the right way. I thought the players represented the football club and a nod to our former right-back in the best way was producing a front-foot, committed performance.