Sheffield United: 'No excuses, we've not been good enough' admits star as he backs new arrivals to make a big difference

Despite guiding them into third round of the EFL Cup, Slavisa Jokanovic has yet to win a league fixture since being appointed as United’s manager earlier this summer following the club’s relegation from the top-flight.

Although a variety of factors have contributed to a sequence of results which have seen United taken only two points from their opening five matches, including the club’s slow progress in the transfer market and a warm-up programme which was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Egan said: “It’s where we are at the moment. I’d say we’re aren’t getting results because we haven’t been good enough to win the games we’ve been in.

“That’s where we are at the moment, in my opinion at least. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and there’s nothing to be gained from sugar-coating things or dressing them up.

“We know the levels we can get to.”

United entered the international break in 23rd position, following a goalless draw with Luton Town.

Despite among the favourites to secure automatic promotion, Jokanovic’s squad already trail second-placed West Bromwich Albion by 11 points. However, after a woeful start to the window which saw no fresh faces arrive before competitive action resumed, United completed a flurry of temporary deals just before it closed with Morgan Gibbs-White, Conor Hourihane and Robin Olsen being unveiled.

Although Jokanovic believes their presence at te Steelphalt Academy can help inspire an upturn in fortunes, he made no attempt to disguise his frustration with the fact it took the quartet so long to be unveiled.

Egan, who has been on World Cup qualification duty with the Republic of Ireland, appeared to echo the Serb’s annoyance, stating: “We were in the toughest league in the world and we got into a rut. We thought we’d kick on but we didn’t.

“A few of the games have been tight but we’ve not done enough to win them, clearly. Flashes of quality isn’t enough. You need it right the way through the games.”