Alan Biggs: Sheffield United will battle on but plan has to be in place for probable Championship challenge

It would also insult their professional abilities to claim they have been, collectively, the best they could be this season. They haven’t.

So, in that sense, the table does lie. Consistently competitive, yet mostly unproductive, performances have suggested the shortfall is so slight.

Ultimately, too many players have fallen below their previous standards. And as supportive as this column has tried to be, it would be naive to suggest United look capable of what would be the greatest of great escapes.

Saturday at Fulham is an absolute must win to maintain any hope and you can guarantee no surrender.

Where United have not been good enough is as a squad and the balance within it.

Individually, as per here last week, many of these players ARE good enough. In my opinion. As unquestionably is the manager and his staff.

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But, as a group, there is no disguising the lack of creative and finishing quality. Errors have increasingly crept in at the other end, invariably punished, but you feel the pressure has been created and intensified from the opposite end of the pitch.

No mystery. You get what you pay for. United could not afford, or did not put up, the money required to change that in either of the last two windows, most crucially last summer.

The fixation on fees is a myth. Yes, very big money in terms of the club’s history, but not by Premier League standards where - most importantly - wages are the real differential.

That is not to excuse some of last summer’s recruitment, though my conviction is that even the costliest, Rhian Brewster, will bear fruit in time. And look at Jayden Bogle’s development; he and Max Lowe a bargain at £5m the pair.

Nor is it to ignore the impact of injuries to the MOST influential players, with John Egan the latest in a line led by Jack O’Connell, Sander Berge and John Fleck.

But the bottom line for me is that in hindsight, albeit with internal warnings at the time, United have appeared to be naive about what it takes to stay in the Premier League.

Last season’s massive over-achievement may, of course, have contributed to this, leading to a sense of security I doubt Chris Wilder shared.

Fulham to be without Aleksandar Mitrović against Sheffield United after positive Covid-19 test

The good news in the likely event of relegation - assuming that the inspiration for the club’s renaissance remains in situ - is that the Blades have a window of at least a year to realign their sights and go again.

During which they have the armoury to return from the Championship provided the best players are retained.

In the meantime, there will be no yielding in the fight for points and pride. But planning for the realistic future, keeping as much intact as possible, must start here.

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