Clough admits cup distraction

Nigel Clough admitted he had one eye on Tuesday's Capital One Cup clash with Southampton as Sheffield United drew 1-1 at Fleetwood.

Former Blackpool defender Bob Harris gave the Blades an early lead before Antoni Sarcevic hit back for the hosts to earn a hard-fought point. Clough hinted at changes following the Highbury draw, but insisted his side are still on a strong run ahead of the cup clash. He said: "I don't think we'll go with the same system on Tuesday. "We had a few who weren't fit to start and few who didn't make the 18. "We hope we're taking momentum into that game. "We'll need everything we can get to deal with Southampton." Harris gave the Blades a dream start and Clough said he had recently put pressure on he full-back to get among the goals. He said: "We've been trying to work out ways to be a little bit more positive. "We sacrificed the width and we thought it had worked out when we got the early goal. "Whatever the formation we encourage our full-backs to get forward. "He doesn't hit them like that very often, he doesn't kick the ball very often but it's a great strike. "It's his second in a few weeks. "We challenged him and said he should be getting four or five in a season. "It's lovely for him to get another." Harris opened the scoring with his drilled effort from 18 yards as United dominated the first 45 minutes. But Fleetwood battled back and Antoni Sarcevic's looping header, from a Josh Morris cross, hauled the home side level nine minutes after the re-start. Development squad player Nick Haughton almost grabbed a win for the hosts with a spectacular 25-yard volley in the closing stages. But Fleetwood boss Graham Alexander was happy with a point. He said: "Second half we played on the front foot, we had loads of energy and commitment. "We caused them more problems. We're happy with a point, we could have had three. "But it's a good point against a good club." Alexander was pleased to see his side rebound from back-to-back defeats and felt his side could have snatched the points. "I think we could have won it," he said. "We had some really good chances second half. "We played really well and I don't think we deserved to be 1-0 down at half-time. "Sheffield United are a good side and we fought against them. But we got the equaliser and we could have gone on and won it." Alexander was full of praise for Sarcevic, who scored for the first time since Fleetwood's play-off final win in May. "We've been asking for a little more composure from our final ball and Josh Morris showed that," Alexander added. "We know the quality Antoni Sarcevic has and it's been only a matter of time before he scored. "It's a difficult finish but he's taken it well."