Clough: We're a work in progress

Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough will not see this season as a failure if his side do not win promotion from League One.

The Blades, who reached the last four of the Capital One Cup, will play Swindon in the play-off semi-finals, starting with Thursday's first leg at Bramall Lane, for a chance to reach Wembley and put themselves one step away from ending their four-year stay in the third tier. Many people expected the Blades to be up there in the race for automatic promotion, not least their supporters, but Clough's side has struggled for consistency in the league and had to settle for a fifth-placed finish. This is the Blades' third attempt at the play-offs in those four years in League One and Clough is confident his side will get their reward eventually. "It's like saying it's a total failure if we don't go up this season, well we don't think it is," Clough said. "Other people might judge that differently. It's difficult to pick and choose your times to go up. "No doubt about it, the aim is to get in the Championship this season or next. "You see with what MK Dons have done, they've been there, building for five years, knocking on the door, lost in a couple of play-offs and now they've got automatic. "And that is the case a number of times, you keep knocking and getting close eventually you will get there." While the Blades, in the top flight as recently as 2007, are ready for the Championship off the field, Clough is wary of getting there before he is entirely happy with his playing squad. "It's also about being in a good enough position if you do go up," Clough added. "This is still a team that is developing and growing rather than one that is the finished article. "I don't think we're finished in numbers and in terms of who we need for the squad for this league never mind the one above. "All we do as a staff is try and build. If you look at us for the last 16 years all we try and do is build teams and progress. "We are only 18 months into this process so I hope it is enough to get us up but I'm not sure, we don't know that yet."