Sheffield United goalkeeper Mark Howard spoke to his club's official website and the Yorkshire Post ahead of his side's League One game against Carlisle at Bramall Lane tonight, Howard first singing the praises of Blades boss Nigel Clough:
"The team spirit that the manager has put together is massive. We are a tightly-knit group. We are very close as a dressing room. There is a great camaraderie and no-one gets away with anything now. There is a sense of pride there. Even in training, everyone wants to win. The competition for places has helped in that. We all have high standards and if someone is not pulling their weight then they will be told. That goes for every player in every training session or game. We want the best for each other and that has been instrumental in our turnaround.
“If the play-offs are mathematically achievable, then that has to be our target. It will be an amazing comeback to do it but we are in a good position. The season has been turned round. Two months ago, no-one would have said we might even think about the top six. As footballers, you have that pride and if the play-offs are still achievable then that is our target. The last nine games have been unreal and what we have achieved as a team and a squad is frightening. Now we are doing well in the league we have to push on.
“I haven’t been on a run like this before of eight clean sheets in nine games. I have seen some goalkeepers do something similar, such as the Celtic ’keeper [Fraser Forster] who kept 12 clean sheets recently. But this hasn’t happened to me before. There have been some games when I have not had a lot to do. But you still play your part.
“We do go out feeling confident now. We set our stall out to be quite defensive and we also have some good leaders in the team. They win headers and tackles, and that sets the tone. We do go out wanting to be safe at the back and not give the opposition chances. If we are not giving chances away then it limits the opportunities to win for the opposition. A lot of that is down to the team spirit we have here.
“The Carlisle game is massive; every game is important because of the position we are in. We have given ourselves a chance in the league with the run we have been on. There is an opportunity to reach the play-offs for us now and I see no reason why we can’t push for that goal. It is going to be difficult, everyone knows that. But, if we can keep winning then why not?
“We have proved already that we can back up a big Cup win. After Nottingham Forest we won five on the bounce in the league. I feel we have used the Cup to our advantage this season. Beating sides like Villa and Fulham has given us confidence when we have returned to the league. If we can set up so well against teams from the Premier League, it stands to reason that we can do the same in League One.
“I don’t think there has been one result that has led any of to think, ‘That’s it, the season has turned’. The improvement has been gradual and now things seem to have clicked. The same goes for the FA Cup. The semi-finals were an impossible goal at the start of this run, but look at us now. This is why I came here, to do well. I had options elsewhere. The prospect of pushing Sheffield United back into the Championship was a challenge I wanted.”