Sheffield United: What Chris Wilder's surprising admission revealed about his squad's attitude

His claim to be unaware they had risen to sixth raised eyebrows.
Chris Wilder: Simon Bellis/SportimageChris Wilder: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Chris Wilder: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

Few of those in the room, when Chris Wilder insisted he was unsure of his team's ranking, really believed the Sheffield United manager.

But as his team prepares for Saturday's visit to Tottenham Hotspur, on the back of their biggest Premier League win since April 2007, there was no disbelief whatsoever when the 52-year-old explained, following the 3-0 victory over Burnley, complacency will not creep into United's ranks.

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"These lads are always at it," Wilder said. "They've been at it for three years and they've had to be to get the results that they've got.

"That's been the challenge and that's the standards they have set. And if they're going to keep on reaching them, if they're going to keep improving which is what we've got to do, then we've got to stay at it. Because if you're not then, given what we've stepped into, you won't get points in this division."

Averging 1.4 per game since August, United are proving pretty adept at accumulating them. That figure, if maintained throughout the remainder of the season, translates to a total of 55.1; more than Sean Dyche's men when they qualified for Europe during the 2017/18 campaign.

"You can't stand still or think you've cracked it," Wilder said, reminding "anything can happen because there's still a lot of football" to be played. "When you do, you get found out. If people start getting comfortable, that's when football has a habit of biting you on the backside."