Sheffield United fullback Enda Stevens has revealed some home truths from manager Chris Wilder set him on his way to being a Premier League footballer.

Stevens was an Aston Villa player when he had a loan spell at Northampton Town under Wilder, who later brought him to Bramall Lane.

"I had a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers in the Championship but it was a move to Northampton Town under Chris that really gave me a kick up the a**e," Stevens admitted to the Sheffield Star.

"I knew I wasn't playing well and I wasn't fit... I was a bag of s***e, really. The gaffer finished my loan early and signed another left-back, and I went in and had a heart-to-heart with him so he could tell me what I needed to do better and where I was going wrong.

"I was honest with him, telling him that I was in a tough spot and I didn't know where my next move was going to be, because my contract at Villa was up in the summer. I drove back to Birmingham thinking to myself 'I don't know what's going to happen here, I might have to move back home' but then the phone call from Portsmouth came, with Paul Cook interested in taking me.

“It was a scary one to go from the Premier League to League Two - it felt like pretty much my last chance and if it didn't work out, I don't know where I would have gone - but luckily I met the right man at the right time. Paul got me back focused, got my game back on track, and brought it to another level before United came in for me."