Chris Wilder sounds Femi Seriki warning as overlooked Sheffield United moment highlighted v Stoke City
Chris Wilder sounds Femi Seriki warning as overlooked Sheffield United moment highlighted v Stoke City
Femi Seriki’s magic moment at Bramall Lane yesterday produced a bit of envy in boss Chris Wilder - but the Sheffield United youngster has been warned not to rest on his laurels after a day to remember against Stoke City. The 23-year-old scored his first senior goal in United’s 4-0 win.
And what a goal it was, stepping inside his man before curling past Viktor Johansson in the Stoke goal to put the Blades 2-0 ahead. It was his 93rd senior game in all, his 42nd for United, and easily his most impactful, later laying a goal for Patrick Bamford on a plate with an inch-perfect right-wing cross.
Seriki’s resurgence echoes that of United’s, with the former Bury youngster being dropped by Wilder entirely earlier this season with the implied message that he was not doing enough to force his way in.
He has certainly done that of late amid United’s four-match winning streak, which has catapulted them to within eight points of the play-offs despite giving the rest of the division at least a six-game head start.
“I'm a bit jealous of Femi because he's done what I’ve never done,” Wilder smiled after the game. I've never stuck one in the top corner at that end. Yeah, it's good for him. I wasn’t expecting it, because I was possibly one of the 28,000 that were thinking: ‘Please, Femi, don't shoot.’
Chris Wilder sounds Femi Seriki warning as overlooked Sheffield United moment highlighted v Stoke City
“But he did and it just brought a little bit of a smile to my face. But he's got a lot of work to do. You're not a player until you've played 250 games, in my opinion. Played 200 or 250 senior games.
“He's not made 50 appearances yet [for United], so he can't get ahead of himself. He can enjoy tonight, of course. It's a fabulous moment for him and his family. It was great work from the academy, picking him up on a free from Bury and bringing him over from Manchester.
“But he's got to work hard, keep his head down and go again. Then he can call himself a player.”
United were in control of the game against Stoke from minute one to the end, with Wilder’s opposite number Mark Robins lamenting a display unlike any other from his side this term and Michael Cooper banishing the memory of his mistake last time out at Leicester City with a big save from Divin Mubama in the second half.
“We had to be good,” Wilder added. “I thought it was an outstanding game, if I'm honest. If I was looking from a neutral point of view, which I'm not.
“I’m delighted and Mark won’t be, but they've got threats - good manager, good recruitment. We've had to do a lot of things right today to get that and I'm delighted for Michael [Cooper] as well.
“The save that he made. He's after clean sheets, he's after making big saves and he's made a huge save for us. So, I know the sort of focus will be on the result and maybe the scoreline and Femi scoring and Pat scoring and Mark McGuinness scoring, but that was a huge moment for him as well.”