Expect Harrison Burrows to thank Peterborough United and Darren Ferguson should he realise his Premier League dream at Wembley
Former Peterborough United star Harrison Burrows is one game away from realising a dream...while earning a million quid for his old club in the process.
Burrows could be a Premier League player by 6pm on Saturday less than 12 months after leaving Posh in a £4 million transfer deal which included an extra £1 million payday should ‘The Blades’ reach the top flight during the length of his four-year contract.
And if Burrows and ‘The Blades’ are successful the former London Road Academy graduate will probably send a message of thanks to Posh boss Darren Ferguson.
Soon after moving to Bramall Lane, Burrows told SportsBoom.com: “Darren Ferguson has been the biggest influence on my career so far. We had discussions at the end of last season, and he knew what the next step in my career needed to be. He knew that it would be a move to a club like Sheffield United.”
“He was massive in helping me with my decision. He’s the sort of manager who doesn’t just look out for you as a player, he looks out for you as a person as well.
“Darren is a great guy. My relationship with him was always really good and he’s given me great advice ever since I’ve known him. Obviously, he’d have rather I’d have stayed at Peterborough, but he also wanted to make sure I did the right thing for me and my career as well. It says a lot about him as a person that he also wants to see his players do well when they’ve moved on and that he was also really excited for me.”
The 23 year-old has been a key man in Sheffield United’s third-place finish in the Championship and in the subsequent run to the play-off final which takes place at Wembley on Saturday (3pm kick off) with Sunderland providing the opposition. Burrows scored a penalty and delivered three assists in the 6-0 semi-final aggregate win over Bristol City.
Burrows was a Wembley winner in the EFL Trophy Final with Posh last season when he scored two late goals in a 2-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers to earn the man-of-the-match award.
That experience could come in handy tomorrow as Sheffield United have lost all nine of their previous play-off campaigns.
In an interview earlier this season Burrows said: “I’ve always dreamed of playing in the Premier League. To do whatever I can to get Sheffield United and myself there has been my mindset since I signed last summer.
“Everyone knows how tough the Championship is, but the togetherness we installed in the group has been a massive help. We’re like a family and we show that out on the pitch.
“The club itself is a really family club and everyone is together. Whenever anyone makes an important tackle or scores a goal we surround that player. We just love winning and fighting for each other.
"The manager has been a different level. From day one he treated everyone the same. He always reiterates to us what football means in the city, what it means to the club and what it means to himself being from the city.
“Sheffield United is a big club and he’s one of their own. He’s passionate, and we get our motivation from him.”
Blades boss Wilder is relaxed about his club’s big day at Wembley and about their terrible play-off record.
"If we listen to all the narrative we might as well not turn up and I might as well give myself a holiday," Wilder told Sky Sports. "I've been to the majority of the play-off defeats and I was probably saying the same thing as what the majority of the punters are saying as well.
"We're trying to write our own little bit in the chapter of this famous football club. There's everything to gain from this group. You know, we've not been weighed down by any negativity at all.
"There's been a real reset since we missed out on automatic. The players are wearing their shirts lightly. We are in good shape.”