Sheffield United 'like kids in the playground' now tackling is back

The Blades returned to contact training on Thursday, the day it was confirmed their Premier League season will resume on June 17.

Having not trained since mid-March, Norwood says it was a huge boost to the players to get close to some normality.

“It was nice to just play football again,” said the central midfielder. “It was like kids in the playground with everyone chasing the ball around at first but we couldn't wait to get back at it.

“There are still boundaries, not being able to go into dressing rooms and shower and speak to each other away from the training pitch so it's still a little bit strange but it was nice to be out there and for it to be a little bit normal. You can't beat being out there in the fresh air playing football.

“Last week still felt strange not being allowed within six feet of people and running up and down lanes but now we've started the five-a-sides and the bigger stuff, that's when you get your football fitness.”

Sheffield United are seventh in the table with 10 matches to play, and in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The Blades have been consistent throughout the lockdown in their enthusiasm to get playing again.

“There's been a pandemic in the world and we're not stupid enough to think football's more important than anything else but it's been a long 10 or 11 weeks in lockdown and when the announcement came yesterday we were buzzing to get going because there's a lot to play for us and we want to finish the season strongly,” said Norwood.

“We were the last club to stop training and after a week you're thinking, 'Are we going to get a nudge?' then it becomes two weeks, three weeks, four weeks and we'd be doing all the sessions we had to do with the end goal that football would return. I was always quite confident about that, it was just a matter of when it was safe to do so.

“When the opportunity comes, we've got to be ready to go.

“We didn't want the season to be ended, we didn't want points-per-game, we want to earn what we can achieve.

“The season we're having, there's something achievable for us. It might be a bit of a strange one playing a cup final in an empty Wembley if we get that far but there are bigger things going on in the world at this moment in time and we're not above the Government guidelines.

“It could be a special season for us and that's the carrot being dangled. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to be challenging for Europe but we are, we deserved to be, and we're not just going to let all the hard work we've done over the past months slip away now. There's no point letting all that hard work go to waste.”

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