Following the club's promotion to the Premier League, it is unlikely there has been a sense of excitement like this around Bramall Lane for quite some time.

But while fans of Sheffield United can look forward to facing the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, there will be as much focus on staying in the top tier for longer than the single season they experienced in the Premier League last time round.

You feel therefore that the recent comments made by manager Chris Wilder will have given Blades fans a cause for optimism, without getting too carried away.

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Speaking about his plans for the summer transfer window, Wilder has revealed to the Yorkshire Post that has no plans to take a "wrecking ball" to his team, instead planning to "recruit smartly" ahead of the club's first spell in the top tier since 2007.

This is a promising sign for Sheffield United fans. This is a side that has been incredibly well drilled in defence throughout the campaign, while posing all sorts of threats in attack, and there will be an expectation that they will, with the addition of one or two extra quality players, be able to do that once more next season.

Given the way that Fulham's attempts to throw a long list of big money signings together in an attempt to compete in the Premier League has backfired so spectacularly, you feel there will be a sense of relief around The Blades that they will not be going down that same road.

A good number of this squad have come from the third tier with Sheffield United, and both they and the club will feel they deserve that chance in the top tier for both their loyalty and their quality. Now that it appears that that has been confirmed, the excitement at Bramall Lane will really start to build, and the countdown to the season will have already begun.