Sheffield United: Goalie George Long excited to play alongside Blades new boys
Long wasn’t risked for United’s early warm-up games after picking up a niggling foot injury in training, with boss Chris Wilder reluctant to risk his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of August 6’s League One curtain-raiser at Bolton Wanderers.
But the 22-year-old returned for Saturday’s 3-1 win over Grimsby - playing 90 minutes alongside new boys Jack O’Connell and James Wilson - and admitted afterwards: “It feels good to be back out there, and to get the victory as well.
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Hide Ad“I was left out more as a precaution... I’ve trained for the majority of pre-season, but I had to build it up and get myself ready to play.
“But I’m delighted to get a full 90 minutes under my belt.
“It was a good run out and a good test, and it was pleasing to bounce back from defeat the other night [when United lost 2-0 at FC Halifax Town].
“We played some nice football at times and created lots of opportunities for the strikers, so it was a good run out.
“Jack and James were brilliant; they won the majority of headers, kept it tight at the back and limited Grimsby’s opportunities. So I’m looking forward to playing behind those two when the season kicks off.”
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Hide AdBefore then, however, United complete their pre-season campaign by hosting Derby County at Bramall Lane on Wednesday, before travelling to Worksop to face non-league neighbours Handsworth Parramore two days later.
“It’ll be a different test against Derby,” Long added.
“We all want to play as many games as we can, and they’ll play a different style to the sides we’ve faced so far; they’ll come and play good football.
“They’re a team of Championship players and they’ll be pushing for promotion as well this season, so it should be a good test.”