Sheffield United

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Chris Wilder said that his Sheffield United team have done well to finish third behind promoted Leeds United and Burnley in an "insane season".

The Blades boss told BBC Radio Sheffield: "For those two teams to have the ability to hit 100 points shows what the division is like, and we're the third best team in the division.

"The season went to the 44th game and we had a right go, and created some good chances. We conceded two poor goals - we have to do better on the clearance and the penalty hands the initiative back to them.

"We would have needed 95, 96, 97 points to go up. It's an insane season.

"There will be some big games now. The home game [of the play-offs] at Bramall Lane will be off the scale. We've got to dust ourselves down and go again and we will do that.

"We want to go and get 90-odd points, that's the target."

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield United are "alive and kicking" according to manager Chris Wilder after getting back to winning ways.

The 2-0 success over Cardiff City ended a run of three successive defeats, which saw the Blades fall from first to third in the Championship.

They are now outsiders in the battle for the two automatic promotion spots given they are five points behind Leeds United and Burnley with only three games left.

And they must avoid defeat away to the Clarets on Monday (17:30 BST) to keep their hopes alive.

But for Wilder, the taste of victory was much needed after those three losses in eight days.

"We had to take care of business from our point of view, a really emotionally draining week for everybody, the players and the ers," he said.

"I have got to say, I thought the ers were outstanding in trying to raise us and give us energy.

"In my experience as a player, a coach or manager, I have had little periods where you lose games and sometimes the hardest thing is getting that first one over the line. We have done that.

"We needed a performance. The performance was OK and the result is a big result obviously which keeps us alive and kicking."

Sheffield United's blip could not have come at a worse time.

Three defeats in a row when you need to be increasing the momentum not seeing it disappear.

It's left Chris Wilder scratching his head - and around - for a way to rescue the Blades' hopes of automatic promotion.

They may not find Cardiff in charitable mood either with their Championship status still very much in peril and keen to bounce back from defeat by Stoke and return to the toughness that saw them go four games unbeaten prior to that setback.

Sheffield United have won their last five league games against Cardiff, their best ever winning run against the Bluebirds.

• Cardiff are winless in their past three league visits to Bramall Lane (D1 L2) since ing a 2-0 victory in April 2011 under Dave Jones.

• Sheffield United have won eight of their past 10 league games on Good Friday (D1 L1), keeping seven clean sheets in that time.

• Cardiff have lost eight of their past 11 league games on Good Friday (W3), though did win their last away game against Blackpool in 2023 (3-1).

• Sheffield United have lost each of their past three league games, as many as in their previous 16 matches (W11 D2), not since April 2011 have the Blades lost four successive Championship league games.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has said his side's three-game losing slump is not because of a change in approach.

The Blades have lost away games at strugglers Oxford and Plymouth and at home to Millwall this month to drop out of the top two.

They are now five points off Burnley and Leeds United with four games to play, starting with the visit of lowly Cardiff on Friday.

"We haven't been negative in our approach because we've had 70% possession," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"Everyone wants to sensationalise things but we haven't been good enough, it's as simple as that.

"The approach hasn't changed from the Coventry game [a 3-1 win]. Why would it change?

"Why would we go from one of our best performances of the season to a negative approach in all three games? We wouldn't and we haven't, we just haven't been good enough.

"We've not created enough and we've not been clinical enough in our finishing. We've not done enough at both ends of the pitch.

"We have to accept the criticism that comes from losing three games when we should have won two of them. And I am happy to do that.

"We've got four games to go and we need to adjust it quickly, we understand that."

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield journalist

Image source, PA Media

Sheffield United should forget about the Premier League. They should forget about automatic promotion. They should forget about the play-offs, past and present.

They should forget about Leeds, about Burnley and frankly, about anyone else.

Any Blades success this season now depends on getting their own house in order, from the manager to the players and the fans.

Everyone is asking questions right now, understandably so after three straight defeats in the battle for the top two, with fingers being pointed in every direction.

But the time for ifs, buts, maybes, inquests and recriminations is not now.

Now is the time to regroup, now is the time to put the good, the bad and the ugly to one side (and there were ugly scenes at full-time in Saturday's defeat by bottom club Plymouth Argyle).

Already minds across the fanbase are wandering to the Blades' awful play-off record, having failed eight times to get promoted via the end-of-season lottery. Four times United have made the final, four times they've lost, four times they've failed to score. It makes grim reading.

All runs usually come to an end though, and for all the twists, turns, ups and downs under Chris Wilder, he's never managed the Blades in a play-off campaign.

It took Rory McIlroy 11 attempts to complete golf's career grand slam, and the Northern Irishman now has his richly-deserved green jacket.

Leading from the front has never felt comfortable for the Blades but now they have a backs-against-the-wall narrative under which success has been built by Wilder and others.

Sheffield United have four games left of the regular Championship season, starting with relegation-threatened Cardiff City at Bramall Lane on Good Friday.

The Blades can still achieve everything they wanted to achieve this season and make an immediate return to the top flight, but everyone at the club needs to be on the same page.

Wilder's men need to be ready to strike if Leeds or Burnley falter, and they need to be in a much more positive place on and off the pitch if it is to be the play-offs.

It's been a bad week for the Blades but the players and manager have shown time and time again this season that they have the minerals to find a way to win. They need those minerals now more than ever.

Image source, Rex Features

Boss Chris Wilder says Sheffield United's failure to take their chances cost them once again in the defeat against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.

The Blades are now five points off the automatic promotion places after two late goals saw Argyle come from behind to secure a dramatic win.

"The biggest message was to go and be clinical," Wilder said after his side's third defeat in a row.

"We did what we needed to do in getting the first goal. We dealt with the throw-ins and set pieces.

"The first goal goes in, and that quietens the home crowd. But to go and get the second goal would have killed the game.

"We never really showed the quality we should be showing at the top end of the pitch.

"We couldn't have had a worse week in of results. The players have to pick themselves up and that's what I was talking about in the huddle afterwards.

"We have not been good enough in the last three games. I don't think it's pressure or nerves. We are just not finding big enough moments. We need a big week now."

Plymouth Argyle welcome Sheffield United for a crucial game at both ends of the Championship table on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

The Pilgrims are five points from safety at the bottom, though seven of their eight victories this season have come at Home Park.

The Blades have lost two on the bounce for the first time since October and are two points behind the automatic promotion places.

• Plymouth have lost seven of their past eight meetings with Sheffield United in all competitions (D1) since a 1-0 Championship win in November 2007. The Pilgrims have lost each of their last five matches against the Blades in a row.

• This will be Sheffield United's first away league game at Plymouth since a 1-0 win in December 2009; only in February 1950 have they ever won successive league visits against them.

• Plymouth have won three of their past six home league games (D1 L2), just one fewer than their first 14 of the season beforehand (W4 D6 L4).

• Sheffield United have lost both of their past two league games, but haven't lost three in a row outside of the Premier League since December 2017.

• Against Millwall last time out, Sheffield United had 25 shots, their most in a single league match since November 2022 against Burnley (28), and their most on Opta's records (from 2013-14) in a league game in which the Blades failed to score.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder and striker Tyrese Campbell have won the respective Championship manager and player of the month awards for March.

Wilder guided the Blades to four wins and a draw last month, picking up 13 points from a possible 15 to keep their automatic promotion bid alive.

Campbell hit an excellent run of form in March, scoring four times at a rate of one goal every 88 minutes.

The pick of the bunch was his stunning effort from range in a 2-1 victory at QPR, while the 25-year-old also made a brilliant run and cross to provide the winner for Rhian Brewster in the Steel City derby.

"As soon as pressure is applied, it becomes such a melting pot.

"I can guarantee you parts of the dressing room will be losing sleep. It's about who deals with that best."

In this week's episode of the 72+ podcast, the team talk about Sheffield United's back-to-back defeats, which have resulted in them dropping from the top of the Championship to outside of the automatic promotion places within the space of three days.

Listen to the full episode and more on the Football Daily podcast.

Image source, PA Media

Chris Wilder its his Sheffield United side lack quality in front of goal as their automatic promotion hopes took another blow at home to Millwall.

Josh Coburn's 21st minute strike settled the match despite the hosts having 25 shots and more than 65% possession.

The Blades have lost two Championship games in a row and are two points below league leaders Leeds United and Burnley with five games of the season left to play.

"It's been a tough couple of games for us, we didn't do enough on Saturday and paid the price and just shot ourselves in the foot really," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield after the match.

"The first goal is massive in this division. The goal, from our point of view, there were so many things we could have done better to prevent that.

"I thought the energy from the team was good, we've created enough opportunities [and] we've got the ball where we wanted to get it.

"We've had 25 shots but really when you're looking for that little bit of quality that you need, when we got into those positions we never really found it and fair play to Millwall.

"The quality that we do possess has gone missing tonight at the top of the pitch."

The Blades face Plymouth Argyle (A), Cardiff City (H), Burnley (A), Stoke City (A) and Blackburn Rovers (H) in their remaining games.

"I don't think anybody would have thought that we'd have lost the last two games but we've done that so we have to suffer and to own that and take that on the chin," Wilder added.

"I think I've got enough characters and quality in that group to get us back into a winning run, but it has to come soon and it has to come on Saturday [at Plymouth].

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media ahead of the game against Millwall on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

Here are the key takeaways from his press conference:

• United will have a fully-fit squad to pick from after Wilder confirmed "everyone is okay", but said that he has some "difficult decisions to make".

• He is considering giving players who "weren't good" in the 1-0 defeat by Oxford United on Saturday "the opportunity to make it right".

• He added that whatever side he puts out will "serve us well and give it a right go towards the end of the season".

• On Millwall manager Alex Neil, Wilder said: "I know [him] really well. He's an experienced operator and we're going to have to overcome stubborn opponents who have fight in them, and harbour ambitions to get into the play-offs".

• As to whether he was happy with the Blades' league position, he said: "It ain't bad, but we could have enhanced it on Saturday. We didn't do that so we analyse, reflect and quickly get over it".

• He added: "We're going to have setbacks in the season and in games, and we're going to have to deal with that now. I'm confident in my belief that this team will go to the end, we'll keep believing and drive this thing forward".

Listen to the full pre-match press conference and more on the Football Heaven podcast.

How does a promoted team stay in the Premier League?

Is it about style? Or does over-spending become a tempting proposition in a bid to stay out of the bottom of three?

Is it all about unearthing transfer "jewels"?

Take a look at a clip below or listen to the Monday Night Club debate in full here

Sheffield United welcome Millwall on Tuesday (19:45 BST) as they look to regain the top spot from rivals Burnley.

The Blades suffered a disappointing loss to relegation-threatened Oxford United on the weekend to relinquish their place at the apex to the Clarets.

However, to take it back they will need to claim victory over the Lions, who will also be looking for maximum points as they try to carve out a place in the play-offs.

• After their 1-0 win in December, Sheffield United are looking to complete their first league double over Millwall since 1983-84.

• Millwall have won just one of their last 14 away league games against Yorkshire clubs (D3 L10), a 4-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday in November 2023.

• Under Chris Wilder, Sheffield United have only lost four of their last 32 home games in the Championship (W24 D4), although three of those have come since Boxing Day 2024.

• Millwall have lost both of their last two away league games without scoring, last losing three in a row on the road without finding the net once back in September 2018.

• Each of Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder's last three home games against Millwall have been 1-1 draws, two with the Blades (Apr 2018, Apr 2019) and one with Middlesbrough (Nov 2021).