Chris Wilder on what's really to blame for Sheffield United's miserable Premier League season

United are preparing for Sunday’s game at Leicester City 12 points adrift of safety and at the bottom of the table with only 10 matches remaining; a situation which has prompted Wilder to begin laying the groundwork for a return to the Championship.

Although he conceded certain “things could have been done differently” since last term’s ninth placed finish, Wilder believes the fact that handing out the end of season awards will not prove too challenging for supporters highlights another of the issues United have faced in recent months.

“The majority of players have produced poor performances,” he replied, in response to a question about Enda Stevens’ contribution since recovering from injury. “It’s not just him, we look at every position.

“Listen, these boys are an honest group. If you ask them individually, they’d probably be marking themselves at fours, fives and sixes. Us, with where we’re at and being in this division, we needed sevens, eights and nines.”

“The Player of the year award isn’t going to be contested by seven or eight people,” Wilder added. “I think it’s going to be a much smaller number than that. Because who has really stood out? Who has really taken their opportunities? Not many, to be fair.”

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