Sheffied United are warned about next season

Six months after embarking upon their first top-flight campaign since 2007, Chris Wilder’s squad travelled to Dubai on Sunday night ranked fifth in the table and only two points outside the Champions League places.

With the likes of Greece defender Panos Retsos and Sander Berge, the club’s record signing, among those to arrive at Bramall Lane in recent weeks, United have been described as a rising force in English football by both Chelsea manager Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho; his counterpart at Tottenham Hotspur.

But Wilder, who has scheduled a series of meetings with owner HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud throughout his team’s stay in the Middle East, where they are spending the PL’s winter break, insisted: “There might be a season where things don't go for you because of injuries, suspensions and lack of form.

“A few players we bring in might not hit the ground running all the time and we've seen the quality of the division.

“We're doing well so far but it doesn't mean if we finish in the top 10 we'll be going for a top-five position the next season, that's really difficult

“But you're always looking to improve and sometimes it's not always shown in points in the table.”

By Wilder’s own admission, recruitment has featured heavily on the agendas of his discussions with Prince Abdullah who, together with some of his most trusted advisers, is spending part of the week in the emirate.

“It’s a constant thing,” Wilder said. “We don’t just start looking when a window is about to open. We’re always keeping a track on what’s happening out there.”