Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has paid tribute to David McGoldrick after the Ireland striker finally broke his Premier League goal drought in Saturday's 3-0 win against Chelsea.
McGoldrick scored his first top-flight goal in 26 appearances this season when turning home a rebound to give the Blades a first-half lead.
It was the former Nottingham Forest and Ipswich forward’s first league goal since April 2019, when he scored twice in a 3-0 win at Hull.
McGoldrick grabbed his second against Chelsea after Oli McBurnie had made it 2-0 at half-time to seal another memorable win.
Wilder said: “The attitude he brings, his work ethic. To be fans’ favourite at this football club you’ve got to tick a lot of boxes.
“You’ve got to work hard, which he certainly does, and to play centre forward for Sheffield United you have to have some ability, and he certainly has.
“The way he’s come through this period this season without scoring and still been right up there in people’s thoughts and how they respect him and what we all think about him, just shows what he’s all about.
“He deserves every reward because it’s been a difficult little period, but for us to pick him, he has to bring something to the team and for him to get two goals is brilliant for David.”
Wilder’s side had already beaten top-six rivals Tottenham and Wolves this month before Saturday’s victory gave their Europa League hopes another big boost.
“We had to follow that up again,” Wilder added. “Every manager doesn’t want a spike team, a yo-yo team with one good performance and then a bad one.
“It’s been a great week. Tough game at Burnley [1-1 draw] great result midweek [against Wolves] and to follow it up with another good result against Chelsea is great for everybody.”
