Chris Wilder believes that a first win of the season for Sheffield United is ‘just around the corner’ as he puts the finishing touches to his side’s preparation for their visit to Chelsea on Saturday. The Blades travel without a win but buoyed by recent results and performances against Manchester City and Liverpool, where United gave a good account before slipping to single-goal defeats. Last season’s trip to Stamford Bridge proved a major moment in their season as they recovered from two goals down to grab a late draw.
Chris Wilder said “We are always worried when we don’t get the results but we are doing a lot of things right. It’s the ultimate level of football in this country and the fixture list has been a tough one, but if you have seen the performances we feel a result is around the corner. I will keep going and believing to the end, we will keep driving the players forward there is nothing in their body language or me speaking to them – they are hurting, they want to win. They all understand they can get results in this division, we can do that, we have that in the bag. It will be a shock result but as I keep saying this is Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, no good moaning about the fixture list let’s enjoy it. It is another fabulous chance to play against a fantastic football club. The last two games have been difficult in terms of results but encouraging in terms of performances. Let’s take the game to them – you know my balance and view is that from my own eyes and a statistical point of view, all our key stats add up and are really good. What I am looking at is that we are here to get something from games – we have that ability to do that – we’ve had that over the last two games, all of the games this season, and that’s the hard bit we need to conquer. Confidence and belief can change pretty quickly within a game but usually it is a big result and that is what we are after. We have been after it all season. We have suffered more from injuries to key players than in any of my years at Sheffield United, big players being out for a while. The confidence levels are OK, they are not shot. If they are shot, you are getting done 5-0 at Liverpool and by Man City. The general conclusion from my point of view is that we could have got results in both games. We are not feeling sorry for ourselves, that’s not what we are about or the attitude of the football club. We have fought against the odds to get in this division and stay here and we will have to fight like that again. It’s a big test of what you are about as a person and a player. It’s a positive environment and it will be one going down to Chelsea. Players are in decent spirits and looking forward to going to Stamford Bridge. Football is not as straightforward at times and results can come from nowhere.”
