Sheffield United: Why The Blades still proved a point despite being beaten by Bristol City

Yes, he admitted, the 3-2 defeat was disappointing. Particularly, following Leeds' win over Millwall, because it saw United surrender second place in the Championship table.

But as Bramall Lane's squad gathered to discuss last weekend's events, Wilder produced a sheet of statistics designed to accelerate the healing process.

The figures, compiled by United's match analysts, revealed City had covered more miles and made more sprints than any other visiting team at the stadium all season. In short, the 51-year-old told his audience, they had been forced to work harder and faster than ever ever before to beat a side left badly fatigued by the international break.

"You've got to give the opposition credit," Wilder said last night. "We don't like losing but, in a sense, the lads can take something from what they (City) put in to come through.

"When we were chatting afterwards, we had our suspicions about what the figures would be. Then, when we actually got our hands on them, those were confirmed. So, given the circumstances, I think the boys can actually take something from that."

With eight of their number called-up by their respective countries, United's coaching staff had planned to make a number of changes for the meeting with Lee Johnson's men despite entering the fixture unbeaten in 10 outings and searching for an eighth successive clean sheet. Those were revised when Mark Duffy was forced to withdraw through injury beforehand while Gary Madine's suspension further complicated Wilder's selections.

Although Billy Sharp and Scott Hogan twice fired United in front, Andreas Weimann's hat-trick propelled City to victory.

"Like I say, you have to give them an awful lot of credit," Wilder said. "They are a club that's similar to us. They sell players, they bring players in. They sell players, they bring players in.

"I'm absolutely not embarrassed to lose that game. I don't like it. But I'm not embarrassed by it. And nobody else should be either."

United return to action when they travel to Preston North End this weekend, where Wilder's opposite number Alex Neil has confirmed Andrew Hughes and Tom Barkhuizen will miss the remaining seven games of the campaign through injury.

With Leeds facing Birmingham City, who host United next week, a win for Wilder's men could see them climb back into the automatic promotion places with only a dozen matches left.

"It's all about focus," Wilder said. "Making sure we get back on track."