Chris Wilder gets Sheffield United reality check as fragile Blades' woes deepen with Charlton Athletic defeat
Chris Wilder gets Sheffield United reality check as fragile Blades' woes deepen with Charlton Athletic defeat
Chris Wilder admits he received something of a reality check this afternoon as his Sheffield United homecoming was spoiled by a last-gasp Charlton Athletic winner that sentenced his Blades to a seventh straight defeat from as many games this season. The 57-year-old was hailed on his return after replacing the sacked Ruben Selles earlier this week.
But it was a familiar feeling of frustration for Unitedites as sub Isaac Olaofe came off the bench to tap home in the 90th minute, a goal damaging in its simplicity as United’s soft underbelly was exposed once again.
Wilder has inherited a fragile group whose confidence looks absolutely shot and on the evidence so far, he faces an almighty task to turn around the Blades. “It was not the homecoming we wanted, from a result and performance point of view,” he said afterwards.
“I thank everybody for the reception we got and I am really disappointed that we’ve not rewarded the fabulous support with a result. Maybe I underestimated the amount of work that we need to do as well.
"It was not all negative and there were some bits and pieces on the back of it that were okay. But I just expect a lot more. There’s a little bit of a fragility about us at the moment and maybe I shouldn’t have underestimated that and the effect of the last four, five, six games towards us.
"It was choatic at times, especially in the second period and there was no real control in the game. There’s a young partnership in the middle of the park there [of Sydie Peck and Alex Matos], with not many Championship experiences and appearances between them.
"It’s a new centre-back partnership as well [of Mark McGuinness and Japhet Tanganga]. One of the things we said at half-time was that a clean sheet was an absolute must for us, with the results we’ve had. The goal comes in with a catalogue of really poor goals that have been conceded so far. They were poor decisions, really.”