Sheffield United: Defender's surprising take on what will define club's season

The Republic of Ireland international, who has spoken of his love for both the South Yorkshire club and its followers during an interview with The Star, is a key member of a squad which sits second in the Championship after winning 15 times in 26 outings so far this term.

But reflecting upon his experiences during United’s last league assignment, which saw him gift Queens Park Rangers a goal before scoring an added time equaliser himself, Egan described how a professional athlete’s ability to confront set-backs ultimately defines if they will be a success.

“Mistakes are part and parcel of life, but it all depends on what your mentality is like,” the centre-half said, revealing what was going through his mind after that error in west London. “So it becomes all about how you bounce back. I’m lucky enough to have that outlook where I can just crack on and fortunately it’s a trait I’ve always had.”

“You don’t get time to stop in this business,” he added. “It’s always on to the next tackle, the next pass or the next shot - whatever. I don’t like to dwell and if you do dwell, I don’t think it helps anyone. If you make a mistake and keep thinking about it, let it affect you, then there’s no point in being out there on the pitch.”

Made up of different characters and personalities, something he believes is a source of strength, Egan understands not everyone in United’s dressing room is cut from the same cloth. “That’s why it’s good that we’re going well,” he said. “Because it gives you the confidence to recover quickly. I always knew, looking at the lads around me out there and the ones who were on the bench, that we had a good enough team to get ourselves out of a situation like that. We kept on believing.”

The draw with Rangers brought to an end a run of five straight victories, although United responded by knocking Millwall out of the FA Cup when they returned to the capital five days later. Manager Paul Heckingbottom made a number of changes for that match which, given the calibre of United’s performance at The Den, has provided him with a variety of options as they seek to avenge October’s defeat in Staffordshire. City are 18th in the table but, with Alex Neil at the helm, are expected to pose a stern test of the hosts’ automatic promotion credentials.

Egan, who has scored twice in his last four appearances, said: “I’ve been due a couple and it’s something I want to keep doing. It’s important everyone contributes, from set-pieces and whatever.”

“We’re really together in there (the changing room),” he added. “There’s great bonds in there, great friendships both on and off the pitch which means, no matter what, we’ll always dig in for each other and you can count on that.”