Alan Biggs: Leaking defence isn't Sheffield United's only problem

I have no cause to doubt public pledges that the fee received for Jamie Murphy last summer, around £1.8m, is available to Nigel Adkins. But until some of it is spent supporters are bound to see this statement as open to question.

Of course, it might not be that simple.

There is no point in spending if the attainable players are no better than the ones United already have; so many that you could imagine some internal pressure to clear the decks for arrivals.

But there is widespread difficulty in shifting players on good contracts because of an overloading problem that the Blades and other clubs have created for themselves.

It means that United could be faced with the unpalatable decision of adding even more numbers, or having at least as many, ahead of some summer pruning.

Certainly, if the rest of the season is to carry any tangible optimism then Adkins has to be backed to strengthen not only his back line but a midfield that is currently lacking cohesion and creativity.

This column makes an admission here. While the amount paid for Murphy was realistically good, I badly under-estimated the loss of a match-winning performer.

Frankly, there is no-one, barring the hugely talented but erratic and currently benched Che Adams, consistently capable of turning defence into attack.