Exclusive: Former Sheffield United favourite issues promotion warning to Paul Heckingbottom’s side | OneFootball

Phil Jagielka has praised Sheffield United for their performances this season but he has warned that things can change quickly in the Championship if your standards drop.

The Blades suffered play-off heartbreak in the previous campaign but they haven’t had a hangover from that, with Paul Heckingbottom’s side currently second in the table.

Crucially, they hold a nine-point lead over third-place, even if they trail leaders Burnley.

And, speaking exclusively to Football League World via Sky Bet, former centre-back Jagielka explained why the Blades were always primed to do well this season, but he pointed out that there is still a lot of football to play.

“Sheffield United were slightly unfortunate last season, and Nottingham Forest, they were probably the most inform team, especially in the second half of the season. They both had a bit of ground to make up on the rest and it went down to those two in the [Championship playoff] semi-final.

“This year was obviously going to be a big year for Sheffield United, and they’ve started off pretty well giving themselves a little bit of a cushion from third. As we know the Championship isn’t that easy, so it will be vitally important in this next month or two that they keep that gap as big as possible.”

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The verdict

This is a sensible message from Jagielka and whilst most fans will be confident that this side are capable of finishing the job, we’ve seen teams slip up over the years.

You can be sure that Heckingbottom is echoing the comments of the former England international and he will not allow any complacency to creep in.

Providing their attitude is spot on, it’s hard to see anyone catching Sheffield United as they, along with Burnley, have been a class above this season.