Sheffield United

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

"We certainly won't be in this position next year."

Those were the defiant, determined words of Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder after seeing his side lose their final two home games at the end of a difficult Championship season.

The defeats against Blackburn and Preston typified a lot of the Blades' issues over recent months with inconsistent halves of football, poor goals conceded and missed chances.

Wilder admits the club has underachieved this season, and should have taken more points, but the fact the season is ending with a sense of disappointment about what could have been, should be viewed as an achievement in itself.

When United fell agonisingly short in last season's play-off final, the minimum expectation this season was another top-six finish.

But the nightmare 88-day reign of Ruben Selles quickly shattered those expectations.

Key players were sold, replacements were both late and inadequate, despite considerable expense, with the remaining players from a top-three squad looking a shadow of themselves from just months before.

It meant United were pointless and bottom of the Championship in mid-September when Selles was sacked.

Even after the club's relatively new American owners COH Sports ate humble pie and brought Wilder back to Bramall Lane, the Blades remained at the foot of the table at the October international break on just three points, below bitter city-rivals Sheffield Wednesday who have now set multiple, unwanted records, including the earliest relegation in EFL history.

The signings of experienced free agents Patrick Bamford and Jairo Riedewald helped Wilder to change the narrative in a remarkable autumn period, given what had gone before.

On New Year's Day, after an impressive run of seven wins in 10 games, Sheffield United were 15th in the table, eight points from the play-off places, and crucially eight points clear of the drop zone.

A positive February then saw the Blades in 13th, just three wins off the top six with 11 games still to play.

There was a genuine hope that United could push on and make an improbable late run for the play-offs, but frustratingly that would be the high point of the season.

A six-game winless sequence into April pushed future planning rather than potential promotion to the forefront of minds, with Wilder, his staff and the club's supporters all conducting early inquests into a wasted season and to what will come next.

Wilder believes he now faces the biggest challenge of his already decade-long association with the Blades hotseat.

His legacy at the club was secured in his first spell at Bramall Lane when he took Sheffield United from the bottom end of League One to ninth in the Premier League, and nothing that happens from this point onwards should tarnish that remarkable period in Blades history.

Wilder was 15 minutes away from unequalled greatness as a Sheffield United manager in last season's agonising Championship play-off final defeat against Sunderland, which was his second rebuild at the club.

Now it's crunch time in Wilder's third spell in charge. A significant turnover in players is expected, which could include an exit for a star player or two, with finances tightening without parachute payments.

The team needs more character, more leadership and more quality, particularly in defence, but Wilder knows this more than anyone, and he's more than earned the right to go again.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has spoken out about his side's need to improve their defence of set-plays next season after a disappointing 3-2 loss to Preston North End.

North End defender Liam Lindsay scored twice with headers from corners to open the scoring, while Gustavo Hamer and Patrick Bamford's second-half goals were not enough to secure the win.

"The goals that we've conceded yet again, really poor," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We looked fragile every time the ball came in our box from a set-play.

"We never dealt with that well enough. We knew what the gameplan was going to be. There was nothing in the game from a technical or tactical point of view, but if you can't defend set-plays and you can't defend direct play, you're going to open yourself up.

"I don't think it takes a rocket scientist or whether it's me or 25,000 people knowing the areas where we need to improve, and we will improve next year.

"The spirit of the team was good, they never caved or went under, but we can't concede the goals we're conceding and expect to win matches."

Listen to the full post-match interview on BBC Sounds

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Both Sheffield United and Preston North End will be dismayed by their previous losses last time out and will be hoping to make amends at Bramall Lane on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Blades were handed a 3-1 loss to allow Blackburn to escape relegation, while Preston's close 2-1 encounter with Birmingham City went the way of the Blues.

The two are currently level on points at 57 in the midtable - can one pull away?

• Sheffield United have only lost two of their last 22 home league matches against Preston (W14 D6), winning three of their last four (D1) since a 0-1 reverse in April 2018.

• After their 3-2 win in October, Preston are looking to complete only a fourth ever league double over Sheffield United, after 1894-95, 1896-97, and 2017-18.

• Sheffield United have only lost their final home league match in one of their last 10 Championship seasons; however, that was to Preston in 2017-18 (0-1).

• Preston haven't won their final away league game in any of the last three seasons (D1 L2) since a 3-1 win at Barnsley in 2021-22.

• Paul Heckingbottom has won just one of his five previous league games against former side Sheffield United (D1 L3), although that was this season's reverse meeting with Preston (3-2 in October).

Blades boss Chris Wilder speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield after his side lost 3-1 to Blackburn:

"Miles off of it, no energy, no sharpness to our play at all. The first goal was always going to be important, they've had some decent results. They're compact, they're organised, they hit you on the break.

"We had to get the first goal but we didn't and we were loose in terms of our passing. They broke on us and if we defend like that then they are going to punish us. There was no energy in the middle of the park and just the looseness about our general play.

"We've not defended well enough at all, we've not got out to stop crosses we've not defended in the box, we've not defended well enough as a back four. From 3-0 down at half-time is a long way to come back.

"We changed the shape [in the second half], we played more direct and there was more energy about us. We went to the end but it's not going to be a pat on the back and a congratulations, the first half was not good enough. I wasn't expecting it we were expecting to finish on a high to try and get to 60 points tonight and to get to 66 and that would still be an achievement in my eyes.

"But it was lethargic approach from us. We've got to get it right for Saturday because I don't want everyone to feel like this in our last home game. We've got to own it and we've got to move on."

Image source, Opta

Blackburn will hope to secure their Championship status for another season when they visit Sheffield United on Wednesday night (kick-off 19:45 BST).

Rovers are 21st and five points clear of 22nd-placed Oxford United with two games to play, while the U's have three fixtures remaining.

If Blackburn win and Oxford fail to do so at home to Wrexham, Michael O'Neill's side will be safe from relegation.

Blackburn have lost just one of their past seven games (W2 D4), while the Blades, who cannot reach the play-offs or go down, have won two on the bounce to recover from a six-match winless run (D3 L3).

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in their previous seven home league games against Blackburn (W5 D2) since a 2-1 loss in January 1994 in the Premier League.

• Blackburn have lost six of their past nine league games against Sheffield United (W2 D1), going down 3-1 at Ewood Park in this season's reverse fixture.

• Sheffield United have both scored (20 goals) and conceded (15) in each of their past 10 home league games, their longest run since November 1970 (also 10). The Blades last did so in 11 straight home league matches in August 1954.

• Blackburn Rovers haven't lost their final away league game in any of the previous five seasons (W3 D2) since a 2-3 defeat at Luton in 2019-20. Their final away match of last season was a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United.

• Chris Wilder has lost none of his five league meetings with Blackburn as Sheffield United manager (W4 D1); his only league defeat to Rovers came as Middlesbrough boss in January 2022 (0-1).

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield following their 2-0 win at Watford.

"We needed that type of performance. We made really good, experienced, intelligent decisions," he said.

"Getting the first goal was really important and to double it up pretty quickly was great.

"We put bodies on the line. We made tackles when we had to, we made recovery runs when we had to, and made really good decisions with the ball.

"I never felt a threat from them in the last 15 or 20 minutes."

Image source, Opta

Sheffield United will hope to officially confirm their status as a Championship club for another season when they visit Watford on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Blades are 10 points clear of the relegation zone with four games to play and need a win to guarantee survival - although a draw or even defeat would be enough should Oxford lose at Derby.

Chris Wilder's side ended a run of six games without a win (D3 L3) by beating Hull 2-1 last time out.

As for the Hornets, their hopes of a play-off place are all but over as they sit 11 points behind sixth-placed Hull with only four games remaining - and have failed to win any of their past four (D2 L2).

• Watford have lost their previous four league games against Sheffield United, having been unbeaten in the previous six against the Blades (W4 D2).

• Sheffield United won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, having failed to score in each of their previous four league visits to Watford (D1 L3).

• Since winning four in a row between December 2025 and January 2026, Watford have only won three of their past 17 games in the Championship (D7 L7).

• Sheffield United have only kept two clean sheets in their past 20 Championship matches – indeed, no team in the division has kept fewer than the Blades since Boxing Day 2025.

• Imran Louza has been directly involved in 16 goals in the Championship this season (seven goals, nine assists), just one fewer than the most by a Watford player across their previous 10 league campaigns (17 by Ismaila Sarr in 2022-23 and 2020-21).

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea's Jimmy-Jay Morgan, 20, is being tracked by Swansea, Sheffield United and Preston North End among a host of Championship sides after impressing on loan at Peterborough.

The attacker has spent the season at the League One club, scoring 14 goals in 36 appearances.

He has a year left on his Chelsea deal and a decision on his future is looming in the summer.

Morgan joined Chelsea's academy at the age of eight before moving to Southampton and then returning to Stamford Bridge in 2023.

The Poole-born England youth international has represented his country from Under-16 level through to Under-20.