MICKY ADAMS admits Sheffield United are doing everything their fans could ask of them and more.

Former Albion boss Adams is a Blades fan and knows what the Bramall Lane faithful expect.

He has watched in awe along with the rest of the fanbase as Chris Wilder has guided United from League One to the Premier League in just three seasons.

The Blades sit sixth in the Premier League, just two points outside the top four in their first season back in the top flight.

They can strengthen their claims for a top-five spot when they take on Albion in their first game after the inaugural winter break.

And Sheffield-born Adams, who managed his boyhood club for a year between 2010 and 2011 when they were in League One, believes he knows why the Blades are such a force to be reckoned with.

He said: “Team spirit will only get you so far.

“You have got to give great credit to Chris, obviously, but ultimately it is down to the players who go onto the pitch.

“They are implementing Chris’s style of football, they have got that togetherness that everybody needs and they know what they are.

“They are just a hard-working group who are enjoying the fruits of their success, which is fantastic.

“Sheffield is a working-class area, with the greatest respect to everywhere else, and they demand that you play in a certain style, that you play for the shirt and that is what they are all doing.”

Albion’s head coach Graham Potter praised United’s strong identity prior to the Amex game in the run up to Christmas.

The Blades currently occupy one of the spots for the Europa League next season.

But second-placed Manchester City’s two-season ban from European football means it is likely whoever finishes fifth will take their place in the Champions League if their appeal is unsuccessful.

With United just a point off fifth-placed Tottenham, and only two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea after they lost to Manchester United 2-0 on Monday night, Adams says the Blades are genuine contenders for a Champions League spot.

He said: “Roundabout Christmas you would have said Champions League qualification would have been nonsense talk, but you have got to say that they are in the mix now, particularly after Chelsea lost.

“They are certainly in the mix and can’t be ruled out.”

Adams believes opponents have under-estimated Wilder’s side throughout the season.

He said: “A part of teams’ problems this season has been thinking ‘it is only Sheffield United’ but the one thing any team that plays against them has to get right is their mentality.”

While the Seagulls are desperate for points to pull away from trouble in the Premier, Blades will have just as much motivation to add to their points haul.

The two sides immediately above them Chelsea and Tottenham clash on Saturday in the early kick-off so a win for United would see them jump up a spot.

But Adams, who managed Wilder briefly at the Seagulls, says there is a still a lot of work to do if Blades are going to achieve a Euro spot.

He said: “There are a lot of clubs eyeing it and I don’t think it is a foregone conclusion that they are going to get in there.

“They are in with a shout and all the while they keep ticking the games off and getting results they can’t be ruled out - and that is driven by the manager.”