Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville will be one person pleased about Steve Cooper's side advancing to the Championship play-off final for the first time after suggesting that football "needs a strong" Nottingham Forest.
After Brennan Johnson 's opener on the night inside 20 minutes to give the Reds a 3-1 aggregate lead was cancelled out by second-half strikes from Morgan Gibbs-White and John Fleck, a penalty shootout awaited at the City Ground to decide their fate. Brice Samba became the hero by saving three Sheffield United spot-kicks, including the fifth and final one, to send Forest to Wembley.
With that, Cooper and company are one match against Huddersfield Town away from a place in the Premier League for the first time since the turn of the Millennium. While not explicitly stating so, the former Manchester United defender seems to have a favourite for the final judging by remarks name-dropping the Reds while making a point about Newcastle United on Monday Night Football.
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"The investment in the team has put pride back in the city and feeling back on the pitch," Neville said on the Sky Sports show. "Newcastle is a major city. It's a fantastic place. The north of England doesn't get as much investment as it should do, a lot of clubs in the south have been bought.
"We need a strong Newcastle United, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest. These different cities around the country are really important to football in this country."
