Chris Wilder appears to have made a dig at the Sheffield United board for not backing him in the last transfer window.
Although the club’s transfer record was broken yet again with the arrival of Rhian Brewster from Liverpool, one issue was not addressed.
It was known Jack O’Connell was likely to miss the rest of the season before the last window closed.
O’Connell is currently sidelined after having a knee operation. Wilder has suggested the defender could be back in training in February.
Yet despite knowing they’d be without their key player, the Blades recruitment team did not sign a replacement.
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There were links with Preston North End centre-back Ben Davies and Bournemouth’s Diego Rico. But no one came through the doors at Bramall Lane.
Which is something Wilder is clearly unhappy about.
“I’ve made my thoughts on that clear, about what we should have done in the last window,” the United manager told The Sheffield Star.
“But that’s gone now, we have to move on and battle through it.”
What Wilder said to the Sheffield United board
The United boss has made no secret of the fact he wanted to bring in someone to replace O’Connell.
Wilder previously said it was something he “desperately” wanted to do, because being with the 26-year-old was a “big blow”.
So it has proven, with the South Yorkshire side currently rock bottom of the table after the worst start in Premier League history.
The 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday night was their ninth defeat from 10 Premier League matches this season.
They have just a single point and are yet to keep a clean sheet. Only five teams have conceded more than their 16 goals.
This is in stark contrast to last term, when the Blades finished ninth in their first top flight campaign in 12 years.
They also had a defensive record that was bettered only by the eventual top three.
O’Connell played a key part in that. Yet despite Wilder’s calls to replace him, no one was signed this time around.
United still have six more games before the January transfer window opens and a new signing can potentially be made. Let’s hope it’s won’t be too late by then.
