Danny Higginbotham delight at Sheffield United chance

New signing Danny Higginbotham believes Sheffield United's dramatic comeback against Doncaster on New Year's Day shows the Blades have the mental strength to win promotion.

The 34-year-old defender made his debut in the 2-2 draw against Rovers.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "The biggest thing for me was that at 0-2 we didn't throw in the towel.

"For me, coming here is a fantastic opportunity at a massive club with a great chance of going up."

Higginbotham joined United on a six-month deal from Premier League Stoke City - turning down an opportunity to extend a loan period at Championship club Ipswich Town to do so.

He explained: "I was very surprised and very happy when I got a phone call on Sunday to say that something could be happening here.

"When you're taking 4,000 or 5,000 fans to away games, as a player that's what you want, you just get carried away with the passion of the supporters."

An 89th-minute equaliser from Dave Kitson - a former team-mate of Higginbotham's at Stoke - secured a point for United.

"This football club is a sleeping giant," said Higginbotham.

"For me the biggest thing was we stuck together, because at 2-0 down a lot of teams would have called it a day, but we didn't and if the game had gone on for another five or 10 minutes we could have won it.

"Even in the Premier League you have to earn the right to play, you have to win the battle first and then the quality will come through. The players we have going forward are going to give anybody problems in this division,

"In a derby game against a team going up against us for promotion it was a massive comeback."