JAMES Hanson is relishing the prospect of lining up against City in a promotion showdown.

But he has promised to keep any goal celebrations in check when they face his new club Sheffield United on Easter Monday.

The Bramall Lane clash on April 17 is already ringed in Hanson’s diary after he was officially unveiled as a Blade before the surprise home defeat to Fleetwood.

Hanson told the T&A: “I’m delighted that I still get a chance to play against Bradford. I wasn’t sure if they were going to put it in my contract not to.

“It will be a great game and I’m sure it will be close to a full house there.

“To a minority of fans, I’d love to celebrate if I scored. But let’s be honest the majority have been brilliant with me over the eight years I’ve been there.

“I wouldn’t want to show any disrespect to them so I’d keep it under wraps.

“The reaction from the Bradford fans (to me leaving) has been very nice. It’s good to see they have recognised how hard I tried and my achievements for the club.”

Hanson admitted that leaving Valley Parade after eight years is a “surreal” feeling but Sheffield United tick all the boxes.

Millwall had previously tried to sign him and made a late call on Friday to renew their interest but his mind was already made up.

Hanson added: “Millwall rang my agent to ask about the situation. They wanted to know if I would be interested if they put the same offer in down there.

“But geographically they would have to have made me such a good deal I couldn’t turn it down.

“Sheffield United is only 45 minutes away for me and it’s just as big a club as Bradford.

“It’s a fresh start and one I probably needed to get my career going again.

“If I could have picked any team in this league, it would have been Sheffield United. Not just geographically but the size of the club and how well they’re doing.

“With three months left of my contract, I wasn’t really sure what Bradford’s ideas were. There were vibes about a new deal at the start of the season but nothing got offered.

“So when Sheffield United came it, it was pretty much a no-brainer because I needed to secure my career.”

Hanson revealed that there had been discussions with City at the start of the season about a new deal but “nothing came of it.”

He said: “Originally they did start talking about it and I can understand why they didn’t want to make an offer at the time with me being injured.

“Stuart (McCall) said the chairman wants to speak about it in January and just to focus on getting back playing. Nothing really came of it.

“In football you can find yourself out of contract and then suddenly your wage demands are lower because there is that much competition.”

Hanson’s big-game experience honed from the expectations of a large Valley Parade audience also appealed to the Blades, who are perennially promotion favourites in League One.

The leaders are wobbling with only one point from the last two home games. But Hanson, who is likely to make his debut against Wimbledon a week on Saturday, can handle the weight of expectation.

“It does help when you play in front of 18-19,000 every week, especially with the history we’ve had with the cup runs,” he said.

“Dealing with that pressure shows I will be capable of doing that again with Sheffield United at the business end of the season.”