Sheffield United: Enough talking - now is the time to show your spirit, Chris Wilder warns his Blades stars

“Their front players were better than ours, their midfielders were better than ours and their defenders were better than ours,” he said.

“Their defenders controlled our forwards better than vice-versa, and the same in midfield and at the other end of the pitch.

“It wasn’t anything to do with shape or anything like that that sometimes gets thrown around. We didn’t get outrun and nothing they did was a surprise to us.

“It was a basic Championship game which I feel like I’ve seen many times before.

“They just made good decisions and did the basics better than we did. It was as simple as that, really.”

The defeat - United’s fourth in their last five games - saw them fall ten points off the automatic promotion places in the Championship and Leeds, in seventh, are just a point behind them.

“We’ve taken another step backwards,” Wilder said.

“I think a few of the players took their eye off the ball which is a dangerous game when I’m about. The second half at Preston doesn’t represent what I’m about, what this club is about and what the thousands of fans who made the journey deserve.

“We’ve set the standard. People say we’re in the Championship now, our first season back and use excuses and words like ‘consolidation’... the truth is that we put ourselves in a good position, and at the minute we’re taking backward steps.”

United can put an end to their poor run of form with a positive result this weekend, when they face Aston Villa in a Sky-televised clash in the Midlands - and Wilder is looking for a reaction from his players.

“Team spirit doesn’t just come from having a night out or winning a few games,” the Blades boss, whose side recently travelled to Dublin for their Christmas party, added.

“It’s times like this when you have to show it. I talk a lot about the spirit of the group but this is where they need to show it.

“We’ve took a lot of plaudits, myself included, so we have to deal with the other side of it.

“Losing games hurts me, it hurts the supporters and it should hurt the players, too, because we’re not doing enough.

“Standards have dropped, people are off the pace and we need to get back at it.

“We showed last week [against Bristol City] that when we’re at it, we’re a decent side in this division and we’ve produced fairly consistent performances so far.

“But at the moment the consistency isn’t great.

“I expect so much more of the players and they need to get their fingers out.”

Meanwhile, United have announced plans for an evening to mark the 50th anniversary of Tony Currie signing for the Blades.

Currie was voted United’s greatest ever player and former teammates, friends and family will join him at the event, at Bramall Lane on February 16 next year.

United co-owner Kevin McCabe said: “I was lucky enough to be at Bramall Lane when he scored on his debut against Spurs in 1968. I think anyone there that day knew immediately that even as an 18-year old Tony was going to be a special player.”

Tickets are priced at £45 per head, which includes a two-course meal. A limited number of tickets for a VIP reception in the Legends of the Lane museum - where guests can share a glass of champagne with Currie, have an intimate chat and receive an exclusive signed picture before sitting down to dine - are available at £75 per head.

For more information or tickets, contact 0114 253 7200 (option two) or email [email protected].