Sheffield United host Blackpool this weekend at Bramall Lane and the latest ‘Inside Training’ video has shown a clear direction that Slavisa Jokanovic is trying to get his team working towards.
The Blades have endured an inconsistent start to the Championship season but won last time out against Barnsley to put themselves within three points of the playoffs. On the day, Lys Mousset scored twice, before Ben Osborn fired in a third at Oakwell.
Interestingly, two of the goals that day came from getting in behind in wide areas and picking the right pass across goal. Both Osborn and Mousset benefitted at Barnsley.
And in the latest Inside Training video on YouTube, the Blades players can be seen clearly being put through their paces in this aspect once again.
In the clip, which can be seen towards the back end of the video, United’s players are seen quickly switching play, before one of the wide players picks out one of a number of runners in the box.
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And in fairness to the strikers on display, there’s some fine finishing shown.
Different yet similar to the Wilder days
While we all know the players are adjusting to a new way of working under Slavisa Jokanovic, the ball being in wider areas is really nothing new.
Under Chris Wilder, this was synonymous with our play. Granted, it usually involved a Jack O’Connell or Chris Basham overlapping, but the concept was similar.
There will be differences, of course. But it’s clear Jokanovic is big on United being sharp and clinical from wide areas. The biggest difference we can from the Wilder days is the speed at which the ball comes in. Under Wilder – especially towards the end – the Blades seems to dilly-dally a bit and often go backwards.
Under Jokanovic, there seems an emphasis on making sure the ball goes in and the right decision is made. Hopefully, we can see this put into practice against Blackpool this weekend.
