Sunderland will face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final if they can claim a semi-final second leg win against Coventry City on Tuesday night.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has insisted his side will not succumb to the weight of history when they face either Sunderland or Coventry City in this season’s Championship play-off final.

The Blades produced two professional displays across both legs of their semi-final clash with Bristol City to secure their place at Wembley on Saturday week. Wilder’s men always looked in control of the tie from the moment Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare were all on target in a 3-0 win in the first leg at Ashton Gate last week and they replicated that scoreline on home soil on Monday night to move within 90 minutes of potentially returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

O’Hare found the net once again after Wales international Kieffer Moore and Gustavo Hamer had taken their side out of sight with goals either side of half-time. Wilder and his players will watch on as Sunderland and Coventry meet in the second leg of their own semi-final tie on Tuesday night, with the Black Cats currently slight favourites to progress into a final date with the Blades after they secured a 2-1 win at the CBS Arena on Friday night.

Much has been made of the Blades record in play-offs after they failed to secure promotion in all eight of their previous attempts to navigate semi-final and final ties. Since first qualifying for the then-Division One play-offs and falling to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace in 1997, United have four semi-final defeats and four final losses - but Wilder has stressed his side’s performances throughout the season means they should pay no attention to the narrative created by their dismal play-off record.

Speaking after Monday night’s win, he said: “I don’t feel there’s a negativity because of our previous campaigns. It feels (as if there is) a freshness about it, a real belief that we can make history and put to bed all that, other things have gone on previously. I think I’ve witnessed (the) majority of it as well.

“It isn’t easy to go straight back up. It’s not straightforward. And we pushed and pushed all season. We got 92 points, for two teams to get to 100 points is an insane season. Then we’ve had to have the challenges of the narrative of being the team that’s got so close. But how do they deal with it?

“The narrative as well of Sheffield United’s play-off history and stuff like that, so we’ve had to to make sure that we were right. We had to be good tonight, we had everything to lose. The first goal was always going to be a big goal. We have had to play well and do a lot of things right over the two games to get to the final.”

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