Sheffield United have already answered last season's biggest criticism despite summer of turmoil leaving room for improvement
The margin for improvement at Sheffield United is obvious as they search for solutions to a difficult summer - but the one thing they can’t afford to be missing is there in spades, our man Danny Hall believes
Chris Wilder believes Sheffield United have already answered the biggest criticism he levelled at his side last season, despite a summer that saw three of their best players leave and forced them to almost reshape on the fly.
The Blades dropped a whopping 27 points from winning positions last term, which dealt a huge blow to their hopes of gatecrashing the play-offs after recovering from a terrible start.
They began 2025/26 with seven straight defeats in all competitions but this time around have lost one of their first eight. They have nine points on the board by early September - last term, it took until late October to reach that mark.
Since then United have been rocked by the sales of Callum O'Hare, Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks, injuries to key attacking players and an ongoing search for the right formation to get the best out of the players Wilder has been left with.
But the Blades boss takes a lot of comfort from the character and resilience of his team. Last season they too often found a way to lose a game, or drop two points, when they were seemingly on top.
This time around, as shown on Tuesday night at Blackburn Rovers, they are showing that promising habit of picking up points while still being some way from their best.
“I questioned the mentality of the team last season,” Wilder admitted at Ewood Park after Tuesday’s 2-1 win. “We lost 27 points from winning positions. But we're grinding it out at the moment.
“And I think that's a quality that shouldn't be underestimated. We've got character, we've got a strong mentality and we've got good players that will play better individually and collectively.”
While keen to shield his players from undue criticism, considering the difficult hand they have been dealt, Wilder openly admits that several are still searching for form, while others have been asked to shoulder bigger workloads.
Sydie Peck is yet to fully “get out the traps,” Wilder admitted, despite scoring one and setting up another at Blackburn while new arrivals Hamza Choudhury and Ben Brereton Diaz are still getting up to speed.
“There are a few players that are scratching away, trying to find their form, which they'll get,” he said. “Some players don't start the season as quickly as we all want everybody to be, eights and nines from the off.
“I think it's that inconsistency that the majority, if not every team in this division, is having to cope with at the moment. I'm sure with the quality of players that we've got, we'll end up finding that.”
The fluidity that Unitedites are craving should come as the season develops, and the swagger that usually follows hopefully won’t be far behind. But that mentality is a lot harder to discover mid-season - and the Blades look like they already have it in spades.