Chris Wilder plays down Gus Hamer theory as Sheffield United gear up for crucial phase amid Patrick Bamford latest
Chris Wilder plays down Gus Hamer theory as Sheffield United gear up for crucial phase amid Patrick Bamford latest
Sheffield United embark on a crucial phase in their season without one of their talismanic players in Gus Hamer, after the forward picked up his 10th league booking of the season in Saturday’s frustrating draw with West Bromwich Albion - but with boss Chris Wilder insisting: “We’re not a one-man team.”
The United star had to navigate two more games to avoid falling off the disciplinary tightrope that he was walking, but his caution for dissent in the dying moments against West Brom ruled him out of the Blades’ away double-header at Norwich City and Birmingham City.
His enforced absence is another blow for the Blades after they missed the opportunity to increase the pressure on the teams above them in the race for the top six. The Blades are now eight points off Wrexham in sixth, at the time of writing, and have a game in hand on United.
Striker Patrick Bamford is also a doubt to feature tomorrow at Carrow Road after coming off at half-time against the Baggies, while Kalvin Phillips remains out after a recent knee issue despite his three-match suspension ending at the weekend.
“We’ve got a couple of bumps and bruises,” boss Wilder said. “Obviously, Pat came off at half-time, so we're assessing him and giving him as much time as possible to be involved on Wednesday night. And the usual ones that I should imagine everybody in the Championship will be having at this particular moment.”
Chris Wilder plays down Gus Hamer theory as Sheffield United gear up for crucial phase amid Patrick Bamford latest
Hamer’s absence will open it up once more for another United man, with United in the middle of another hectic three-game week at the business end of the Championship season. “I think that's been the tone of it. That was the tone of it at QPR. The group takes care of itself.
“It's a group that's well-balanced, which is what we tried to do in January. Fill some holes as well, give some competition for places. So, Gus missing, which is disappointing, but the team has won games with Gus in the team and without it.
“And we're not relying on one player. Everybody has to play their part, but we'll get round that. If you look at the opponents on Wednesday night, they've had some big injuries and some big misses for them, and they've managed to get round it.
“We've managed to get round it, and that'll be the key to it. And hopefully we can go and put a positive performance on Wednesday. I’m a bit frustrated about what happened on Saturday afternoon.
“It wasn't the most free-flowing of performances, playing against a team, first half, that made it difficult for us.
“We created enough in the second half, after reviewing the game, and really we should have seen the game out or should have won the game 2-0. It was a missed opportunity, and then we quickly get back to the next opportunity, which is obviously Norwich on Wednesday night.”