IN March, as Kevin Blackwell was still moving his personal effects into the manager's office at Bramall Lane, Charlton condemned Sheffield United to a defeat which the former Leeds and Luton chief still counts as the most disappointing of his reign so far.
Scroll forward eight months and Blackwell's players travel to The Valley tomorrow hoping to inflict the same sort of punishment on opponents who now find themselves grappling with two of football's most debilitating diseases: poor form and fragile confidence.
"That game was a watershed for us," Blackwell reflected at Shirecliffe yesterday. "If I'm being honest, I could smell and sense the fear in the dressing room beforehand.
"I asked each and every one of the players to be objective and assess their own performances.
"We had a meeting, I sat them all down and asked them what they're strengths were, what their qualities were and whether or not they thought they were fulfilling their own potential.
"Most of them, and quite rightly so, replied 'no', and that was the turning point.
"They've bucked their ideas right up since then
"Sometimes you've got to put the ball in the players' court."
Of course, the United side Blackwell inherited from his predecessor, Bryan Robson, were a completely different proposition to the one which will board their London-bound coach later today.
Indeed, it is a measure of the transformation which has taken place that, despite suffering their first home defeat since that miserable spring afternoon against Reading last weekend, Blackwell will not be posing the same sort of questions during the long journey down to the capital.
They are ifth in the Championship table and within striking distance of the top two, and United's confidence in their own ability remains undiminished.
"I think if people had said that after being beaten by Charlton we wouldn't lose another game at home until now then we'd have taken it," Blackwell continued.
"It's not nice to lose a game but what we can do is take something positive out of the situation.
"It's shown us that there is never a divine right to win a game, that we can't afford to start slowly.
"We must remember that, how ever well things are going, there is always something around the corner in this business waiting to trip you up.
"But it's equally important that you don't turn every set-back into a catastrophe."
Organisation will be the key to ensuring United do not lose their footing against a Charlton side which, despite languishing just above the relegation zone, showed signs of improvement against Birmingham recently.
"Players have got to be able to think for themselves and when you play for a big club you've got to be able to stand up and be counted," Blackwell said. "You've got to be able to take decisions for yourself.
"What we've tried to do is given them a framework to work within and I think they've benefited from that guidance.
"They know what's expected of them in certain scenaries and where they should be.
"It was that organisation and the confidence they've got in themselves which allowed them to come back into the game against Reading and come close to possibly taking something from it."
What do you think? Post your comments below. READ MORE Blades Watch 08-09 - The Season So FarOwls Watch 08-09 - The Season So FarWatch Premiership highlights, international football, golf, tennis, darts and much moreFootball headlinesMore BladesMore OwlsMore SpireitesMore RoversMore RedsMore MillersMore Ice HockeyMore rugby leagueMore rugby unionMore boxingSports columnistsAll sport categoriesEngland under-21 international Kyle Naughton colour posterThe full article contains 621 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
