Exclusive: Billy Sharp wants to manage Sheffield United - but he has Doncaster Rovers target to hit | OneFootball

The EFL's all-time highest goalscorer reveals his upcoming plans for on - and off - the pitch

Billy Sharp has reiterated his desire to one day manage Sheffield United but insists his immediate focus is firmly on dragging Doncaster Rovers away from League One trouble.

The EFL and Championship's all-time highest goalscorer made his 800th senior appearance last Saturday, coming off the bench against Wigan Athletic in a 3-3 draw.

With Sharp now just six goals away from reaching 300 in his career, the Blades legend admitted that sense of longevity makes him “proud”, but stressed that the goals tally will always matter more.

Billy Sharp spoke exclusively to FLW on behalf of Midnite, who has commissioned a 50 square metre mural of Sheffield United’s legendary manager Chris Wilder outside Bramall Lane.

Midnite, the Blades’ principal partner, is bringing fans closer to the team they love through exciting initiatives during the 2025/26 season.

Billy Sharp "hungry" to reach 300 career goals at Doncaster Rovers

But, the current reality for fellow South Yorkshire club Doncaster is that they find themselves three points from League One safety following the aforementioned Wigan clash, having lost half of their 26 fixtures after a promising start.

Rovers were promoted as League Two champions last term and Sharp then signed a new one-year deal - after scoring nine goals in 43 league matches to help fire that title win.

On how the season has played out for Donny so far, Sharp told FLW: "We need to start winning games ourselves to be honest, because we started the season really well and then fell away.

"Yeah, we're disappointed that we're in the relegation zone at the minute, but football changes quickly. So we need to put two or three wins together, and it can shoot us out and give us confidence to climb the table."

Sharp, who turns 40 next week, hasn't started a league game since the home defeat to Stockport County at the start of December, but is very eager to reach the 300-goal mark as soon as possible.

When speaking about his longevity in the game, the striker said, "It’s nice to see the longevity that I've been playing at. Yeah, it's proud, but the thing that makes me more proud is the goals.

"I want the six goals, and I'm hungry to get them six goals, and hopefully I can start knocking them down."

Billy Sharp reveals he dismissed Doncaster Rovers retirement to chase goals

For someone who's achieved six promotions across his career and captained boyhood club Blades in the Premier League, Sharp still loves the game 'too much' to retire, but explained how he's always planning for the future.

"I've got plans for tomorrow, for next week, for next month or beyond that," Sharp revealed. "I think you always have to have a plan in your head. I always have goals in my head, targets to hit, and yeah, you've got to be - not organised - but you've got to prepare.

"Football's about preparing, whether it's for training tomorrow or the game tomorrow, you've got to always be ready. I'm still enjoying myself. I've still got targets to hit. And I still love being around it every day. Did I think about retiring end of last season? I did on a promotion. But I loved it too much, and I had other things to still chase and, you know, to be still playing."

Regarding his upcoming birthday, Sharp said that one day he hopes to sit back and "appreciate" what he's done - but not yet.

"I'm 40 next week, so to still be playing at 40, 800 appearances, hopefully get the 300 goals. One day I'll be able to sit back and appreciate what I've done."

What Billy Sharp has said about managing Sheffield United

Alongside talking about the Wilder mural commissioned by the club's principal partner, Midnite, Sharp has made it no secret of his desire to one day manage Blades in the future - but is aware of the work he needs to do in order to potentially get that opportunity.

"Yeah, obviously timing and opportunities, they come at different times and, like I say, I’ve prepared for that. I've done my - well they’re called diplomas now. I've done my B license and my A license. I'm on my LMA managers diploma. I'm coaching at the minute as well.

"That is something I want to do. I want to be a manager. I'd love to manage Sheffield United one day, but there's so much work to go into before that that could possibly happen," the Blades legend admitted.

Even whilst being on the university-accredited managers course, Sharp spoke about how he could still end up playing for 'one or two years.'

"I love playing football. I know I'm not going to be able to do it forever. I probably could do it for another one, two years, maybe, but, yeah, I always try and review things when you get to the end of the season to then plan what the next thing is because I don't like being half-hearted."

Sharp concluded by saying: "That's why I train every day. I still try and be like the 20-year-olds who, you know, if I had to miss training throughout the week and only train once, then I don't think that's fair on people who are trying to get in the team and in the squads who train every day.

"And not saying there's anything wrong with that, but there might be times when you have to have an extra day off, but touch wood, I don't have to do that, and I still feel great."

Ultimately, Sharp is clearly determined to go about doing things the right way and put in just as much effort as he has done on the pitch throughout his career. Whenever the time is right to stop playing though, the Sheffield-born star is putting himself in good stead to make the switch from pitch to touchline a fairly straightforward one.