BILLY SHARP'S GUIDE TO PROMOTION

After going up for the sixth time in his career last season, helping Doncaster out of League Two, the veteran EFL striker tells FourFourTwo exactly how it's done

- Chris Flanagan

Billy Sharp bagged his sixth promotion in 21 years as a professional at the end of last season - then promptly signed a new contract at Doncaster Rovers to extend his career into his 40s.

“I thought about retiring two years ago when I didn’t get another contract at Sheffield United. I didn’t think I could wear another shirt,” the boyhood Blades fan tells FFT. “But LA Galaxy gave me an opportunity to experience something different with my family, then I came back to the EFL with Hull, and now I’m in League One again.

“I’ll be 40 in February – my wife keeps asking, ‘When are you going to stop?’, but I don’t know when I will. While I’m contributing with goals and promotions, and my body still allows me to play, it’s hard for me to stop.”

In injury time of the penultimate game last season, Sharp charged through on goal to put Doncaster 2-0 up at home to Bradford and confirm their rise from League Two. It was a fairytale end to his first season back at the club. “The fans know what the club means to me – in my first spell, they helped me through some tough moments in my life,” he says, referencing the tragic death of his newborn baby at two days old in 2011.

“Promotion last season was as sweet as ever – the sixth promotion was every bit as special as the first. I’ve been lucky enough to do League Two to League One now – I’d done League One to the Championship a couple of times, and the Championship up to the Premier League three times.”

Few have a better understanding of how to ascend the pyramid – and now Sharp is ready to pass on the secrets of a successful promotion campaign...

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