Chris Wilder has instructed his players to ‘clear their heads’ following the 1-1 draw with Fulham this afternoon.
The Blades boss cut a frustrated figure once again as his Sheffield United team failed to capitalise on a number of good first-half chances before falling behind to an Ademola Lookman goal at Bramall Lane.
(Photo by Oli Scarf – Pool/Getty Images)
However, a spirited fightback saw Billy Sharp convert a penalty to rescue a share of the spoils and finally register a point on the board for Wilder’s men.
But Wilder, speaking following the game, says his player need to go away and get things right, with a tough run to come which sees games with Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea all in a row.
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“It’s no good, as I said to the players – they need to clear their heads a bit – it’s no good worrying about the consequences if we don’t play well or lose,” Wilder said.
“We need to take the shackles off somehow and regain that little bit of spark that we’re missing. I’m not going to spin it. We aren’t playing at the top of our game, individuals not playing at the top of their game”.
(Photo by Oli Scarf – Pool/Getty Images)
The Blades boss went on to admit he’s happy for criticism to come his and his player’s way but won’t accept any sort of doubt over whether the squad is fully committed and approaching games with the right attitude.
It will come good…we hope!
Wilder’s assessment is spot on here. The players are suffering from a lack of confidence and are clearly struggling to match the levels they demonstrated last season.
Today, there were signs of the old Sheffield United coming back. Had Oli McBurnie taken one his glorious chances, then the confidence would have risen in the squad. But he didn’t, and you sensed the anxious play creeping in what Wilder touched on.
The next three games are horrible. But, it could be just what we need. A chance to go into games with no pressure and simply look to get back to our best in terms of the football we are capable of playing.
