JOHN Egan’s excellent season with Sheffield United was recognised with the defender getting named Player of the Month for January 2023.

The Cork-man helped his team record three wins and two draws, which has allowed the Blades team keep up with the pace at the top of the Championship and stay in the FA Cup.

Twice he scored last-minute equalisers for his side, against QPR and Wrexham, and this has kept them dreaming of a place in the Premier League next season and a chance of a lengthy cup run throughout the spring.

When collecting the award, Egan was keen to remember some of the toughest games in January for his side.

“I’m very pleased, it has been a good January with results and that is obviously the main thing,” he told the club’s media team.

“Away to QPR was a tough game and we made it hard for ourselves. I kind of made a mistake early on and I was lucky to redeem myself in the end.

“We’ve won a lot of games and then we’re 3-2 down to Wrexham, to get another equaliser. Maybe those two goals have a part to play in this. But, yeah, good to keep the unbeaten run going and to keep some momentum.

“I think we played well in the main without really reaching our peak yet. I think we’re still improving, we’re still trying to improve things and get better.

“We want to be solid defensively. We want to put teams away when we dominate games too. Every game is tough so you have to scrap for points and I think we have shown our resilience, all season really. Even digging out wins when we’re not playing well.” 

This season has seen Egan further establish himself as a defender with an eye for goal. This goes right back to September when he scored against Scotland and Armenia for the Republic of Ireland. His goal-getting continued throughout the season as he found the back of the net at QPR and Wigan.

His last-second equaliser against Wrexham was seen by millions of people as he broke the hearts of the club’s owners, Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The defender was up for a corner in the fifth minute of seven minutes added on and he drove the ball in at the back post.

The strike has forced a replay between the two teams, and they are set to play next week at Bramall Lane.

Egan hopes to continue his goal-scoring form as his team enters the business end of the season.

“I was kind of on a big drought before the Wigan game. Hopefully, I can keep picking up the odd couple of goals,” he said.