Sheffield United hearts were broken on Monday evening with defeat to Burnley ending their automatic promotion hopes, but Chris Wilder firmly believes his side can make it out of the Championship via the play-offs.
The three-horse race for the Championship title finally lost a rider this week, with Sheffield United falling by the wayside after a 2-1 loss to Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday.
That outcome sentenced Chris Wilder’s team to compete in the Championship play-offs, guaranteeing Burnley and Leeds United automatic promotion at the same time.
Gaining momentum before the two-leg semi-final, which will ultimately determine the Blades’ fate, is crucial with two games remaining.
Before playing Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane on the last day, Wilder’s old friend Mark Robins will be the next opponent against Stoke. For Wilder, however, getting to Wembley and the Premier League is the main priority.
What Chris Wilder said about play-offs target and Newcastle United
Simply put, Sheffield United’s play-offs record is awful, losing in all eight of their play-off attempts in the past.
Discussing that horrendous statistic and looking ahead to how he will navigate the journey this time around, Wilder was full of positivity, and identified Newcastle United’s recent Carabao Cup success as the blueprint for his Blades team.
He said: “The club has been here for a long time, since 1889, and it’s going to be here for another 150 or 200 years, unless something happens to take it away from us all.
“There’ll be a time to put that record to bed, and hopefully the time is this season. I know what it’s like, even though it was on a smaller scale, to come through the play-offs and win [with Oxford United]. It’s an incredible feeling.
“As a perfect example, everyone thought Newcastle would get turned over in the Carabao Cup but they had a day and a night to remember. It will happen. Sheffield United will win play-off semi-finals and will win a play-off final. And it’s about time that they did it.”
We still don’t know which of the play-off contenders Sheffield United will face, though we do know third place will face sixth, which means it’s likely to be either Coventry City or Middlesbrough as things stand.
Sheffield United have to be favourites for the play-offs
The Blades may go into the play-offs filled with disappointment at missing out on the top two, but they cannot let that keep them down, as they are still far and away the favourites to win the play-offs.
Aside from the blip in form of late, Sheffield United have been formidable all season, grinding out results relentlessly and keeping pace with Burnley and Leeds in what Wilder described as an ‘insane’ campaign.
Bristol City appears to be the team that could provide United the most trouble in the playoffs, as Sunderland is currently stalling in fourth place and neither Coventry nor Middlesbrough have yet to establish themselves in the top six.
Despite being the underdog, Bristol City is a formidable team, thus Wilder will need to exercise caution if and when his team faces Liam Manning’s squad.
But it would take something exceptional to keep Sheffield United from winning right now, regardless of who they play. Wilder will never have a better chance to end the Blades’ playoff curse than the third-place team, which traditionally has the best chance of moving up.
