Chris Wilder’s message to Sheffield United fans as automatic promotion hopes written off after horror run

Chris Wilder has targeted a “proper performance” against Cardiff City on Friday as Sheffield United look to arrest their alarming slump in form that has left their automatic promotion hopes hanging by a thread. A 2-1 reverse at Plymouth on Saturday was United’s third defeat in three, leaving them five points off Leeds United and Burnley with just four games left.

One of them is against the Clarets, on Easter Monday at Turf Moor, but United can’t afford to look past Omer Riza’s struggling Bluebirds as they look to regain some much-needed momentum in the promotion race. Even if the top-two is now beyond their grasp, United can’t afford to enter the play-offs on a downward trajectory - especially given their wretched history in the end-of-season lottery.

“I haven't got a crystal ball to see what happens in the last four games,” Wilder said. “What happens up the road, or over the Pennines. But it's certainly given them a massive boost, because of our inability to pick up any points over the last three games. We've gone from a really great position after the Coventry game, to one where we're now chasing.

“What will be, will be but first and foremost, we need to win on Friday to get that feeling back inside us. We need to come in Monday bright, dust ourselves down and have a big week. We need a big performance on Friday in front of our own supporters. We're the ones who put ourselves in that position and we're the ones who've taken ourselves out of it.”

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While their race is not mathematically run, it would take an almighty turnaround for United to regain their top-two position at this stage of the season and that mood was reflected amongst the Blades fanbase, both inside Home Park on Saturday afternoon after defeat at Plymouth Argyle and on social media as the fall-out began.

“I understand and respect what they'll have to say,” Wilder said, when asked if he had a message to his fellow Unitedites. “That's part and parcel. I don't think you survive in football if you don't want to win and we do want to win. We've always had that. I've talked about that mentality and we need to get back to that.

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“We need to put in a proper performance on Friday and raise everyone by the attitude and manner of our approach, and the level of performance. We need to find one. I'm not looking at Monday or next Friday or the week after.

“I don't like losing one game. You can lose two. But three is teetering on territory that we don't really want to go into. So we need a win, and we need it badly. However it comes, whatever it takes. We need to show our quality in everything that we do, to try and get that win.”