"Not a fan" - Sheffield United boss takes aim at referee after baffling decision in untimely Millwall defeat

Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United manager, took aim at referee Sam Allison after his inexplicable decision not to award the Blades a blatant-looking penalty in their defeat to Millwall this evening. The Blades slipped to third after their second loss in their last two games, courtesy of Josh Coburn’s first-half goal.

But they could and probably should have had the chance to get back into it from 12 yards after Millwall skipper Jake Cooper dragged Anel Ahmedhodzic to the ground at a corner, having been warned by referee Allison moments earlier about pulling the Bosnian’s shirt. United had chances after that, the best falling to sub Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, but couldn’t force an equaliser on an evening when Leeds United beat Middlesbrough to go back top above Burnley, who drew at Derby County.

Asked if his side should have had a penalty, Wilder admitted: “One hundred per cent. I'm not a fan of the referee. I don't think I should get into trouble on that one, if I'm being honest, either. I wasn't a fan of him last season when he refereed us against Luton and was asking for Ross Barkley's shirt.

“I don't know whose shirt he was after today. Maybe the shirt on Anel's back that got absolutely ripped to pieces. I think especially with the situation we had against Middlesbrough, you're looking for consistency. But I always think he wants to be the star of the show. So I knew what was coming and I wasn't surprised.”

Wilder was similarly critical of aspects of his side’s performance, despite insisting it was not as bad as some have attempted to make out. The Blades finished with almost two-thirds of the possession and had 25 shots on Lukas Jensen’s goal, but the only stat that matters at this stage of the season is the scoreline.

4/10 Sheffield United man struggles again in player ratings v Millwall

Boss makes "six wins" prediction as Blades battle rivals for title

Wilder at passionate best voicing frustration shared by rivals

"It's a frustrating night for everybody connected with the club on and off the pitch,” Wilder added. "A couple of poor goals we've given away in the last two games have put us on the back foot and make the game doubly difficult.

"The first goal was a poor goal from our point of view. I thought up to half-time we were okay, we had enough of the ball without finding the quality we needed to. The attitude of the players was good. I'm not going to criticise them from that point of view.

For the latest Blades news straight to your inbox, sign up for The Star’s free Sheffield United newsletter

The Star has a dedicated Sheffield United WhatsApp Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click here to join

"Sometimes you want them to be a little bit calmer but they're anxious to get themselves back in the game and they leave themselves open, we make some poor decisions. We got the ball to where we wanted to get the ball okay but when you're just looking for that bit of quality that I believe we possess, we just never found it.

“The longer the game went on, the less we controlled our emotions well enough. The anxiety sort of crept into the players and decisions they've not really made all season starting creeping into the game. If you go deep into a season like we are doing we've got to deal with this a lot better.

“I understand the negativity,” says Sheffield United boss

"I understand the negativity, I take that all day long if we don't play well or we don't get the performance. We have to deal with the negativity because we've brought it on ourselves. I've no problem with that. The narrative will be that we're out of the race but I don't think that's the case with five games to go.

"We've got to reset, I've got to pick the right team for Saturday because there's no real margin for error now. We’ve got to get back on track so these last two results don't define our season.”