"Nonsense" - Chris Wilder outlines Sheffield United's derby approach amid pre-Sheffield Wednesday challenge

Chris Wilder has reassured Sheffield United supporters that he and his side will be going all-out to win this afternoon’s Steel City derby after challenging his players to write their name into the club’s history books with victory over Wednesday. The two Sheffield sides face each other for the first time in five years at Bramall Lane this lunchtime, with the Blades hoping to finish the week with three wins from three games.

But the Owls are also looking to go into the international break on the highest of highs with victory against their fierce rivals in S2, with both sides going into the game on the back of midweek victories. The last three meetings between the sides have all been drab goalless draws, with United dominating both Bramall Lane games without managing to find a way past a stubborn Owls defensive effort.

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Describing talk of setting out not to lose as “nonsense,” Wilder said: "We're not afraid of losing and the bigger prize is the win. We'll be going all out for that. We've never been afraid. We have to be pragmatic at times, of course. The second year [in the Championship after promotion from League One] we were going for promotion and a draw was a decent result at Hillsborough.

“It wasn't a great game but they were a good team then under Steve Bruce and to get a result away from home in March and add to our total that eventually got us up, was good. But we never went into the game looking to draw. If you look to not get beat, nine times out of 10 that's the thing that ultimately happens. In the two home games, we went for them and we just didn't manage to get the opportunities to finish off our play. We're not afraid of losing, absolutely 100 per cent not, and we'll be going all out to try and win."

The last victory either way in a Sheffield derby came for United in 2017, thanks to Leon Clarke’s brace against his former club and Mark Duffy’s memorable strike at Hillsborough. “The amount of times we'll talk about Brian Deane's goal [in 1991/92], Dane Whitehouse’s goals that season, Browny's volley or Duffy's goal. On Sunday, the current players can really cement themselves in the tales and stories of past years, going forward.”