Sheffield United’s on-loan midfielder Conor Coady is delighted to help the Blades ‘get back to where they belong’.
The 21-year-old helped the League One club to secure a 2-0 victory over Charlton Athletic on Sunday in The FA Cup to seal a semi-final spot where they will face Hull City.
Coady joined the club on an initial six-month loan deal at the start of the season, but such have been the level of the England U20 international’s performances, that deal was extended until the end of the season.
Sheffield Utd 2-0 Charlton Ath
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Sixth Round proper
Sunday 9 March 2014
Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Winners receive £360,000 from FA Prize Fund
And now with a Wembley appearance to look forward too, Coady says he could not have asked for a better debut season of first-team football.
Coady said: “Everyone knows Sheffield United is a massive club and getting to Wembley is where this club should be. It was a great performance by lads and we thoroughly deserved it.
“The loan move has helped me massively. This season was the right time for me to go out and learn my trade, and to come to a club like this has been superb. The gaffer has come in and helped me loads and I could not have asked for anything better really.”
United have done it the hard way in the Cup, starting their journey with a 3-2 win away at Colchester United in the First Round in December.
Coady admits that the prospect of reaching Wembley was not even in his ‘wildest dreams’ back then.
“Everyone knows Sheffield United is a massive club and getting to Wembley is where this club should be.”
Conor Coady Sheffield United midfielder
“No, I didn’t think it would happen at all. But I think from the Colchester game we have just taken it game by game. We are really made up and we are going to enjoy it all the way until the Semi-Finals now.
“The solidarity and team spirit has been key. The players are all very close and we want to work for each other, and the gaffer has installed that into us. He’s been fantastic in it all, telling us how to play and we’ve responded quite well.”
Coady added: “There are players in this team that have been there and done it and when they line-up alongside you it is brilliant.
“Quite a lot of them are experienced, and there are still some of them who suffered defeat in the play-off final in 2012, so hopefully this time we can go there and put that right in the semis.”
