Familiar defensive weaknesses and missed chances again defined Sheffield United’s latest defeat, as the scale of Chris Wilder’s summer rebuild was highlighted once again

It is glaringly obvious to anyone with even a passing interest in Sheffield United how far the Blades currently are from their best but if any more evidence was needed, the last two home games of this wretched season sum it up pretty well. United rounded off at home with two Roses clashes against Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End, losing both.

The Blades had a go in the second half of both but the damage had long been done by more generous defending, with North End captain Liam Lindsay helping himself to two first-half goals from corners as United’s Achilles’ heel exposed itself yet again.

This game, in many ways, was a microcosm of their season; too soft defensively, and nowhere near clinical enough going the other way. Patrick Bamford scored but then missed a similar chance from close range; Ki-Jana Hoever squandered two sitters from a combined distance of about one yard.

Full-time saw United’s players and staff undergo a lap of appreciation but most of the crowd had since departed. Some had even seen enough and left by half-time, worn down by a miserable campaign that started horrendously, showed some promise and then petered out.

The hard work will follow next week’s finale away at Derby County, when boss Chris Wilder and his staff can set about reshaping United into a more recognisable outfit. This current one lacks an identity, with too many players who just don’t look capable of doing the basics. Or they don’t want to. Either is not good enough for this football club.

“The goals sum us up really, I think,” Wilder admitted afterwards. It’s basic Championship football that you need to be good at. Deal with direct play, deal with second balls, stop crosses. Defend inside your goal. Defend set plays. They were good at it, and we weren't.

“We created chances on the other side of it, but we gave ourselves a mountain to climb yet again with the two goals that we conceded. From two set plays. Good delivery, but there’s just a softness about us.

“And then the shirt's really heavy. It's quite easy to have a perception of an end-of-season feel. But there isn’t, certainly from me. People know me well enough to know that we don't like losing. It's been a winning club for quite a while, taking out in two Premier League seasons that were obviously at a different level.

“We haven't won enough this season. The players did go to the end so for me, there's not a white flag scenario. I think it's an easy one to chuck at everybody.

“I don't think it needs unbelievably highlighting. But yet again, I think it’s shown what we need to do and the areas we need to improve on.”