Sheffield United: No foot off the gas for Blades, roars Chris Wilder as he rejects suggestions games against Newcastle United, Norwich, Aston Villa, Brighton and Watford are 'easier'

With United eighth in the table and with 19 points on the board, many observers have pointed to this mini-run of fixtures as a good chance for the Blades to extend their tally… especially with a tough run of fixtures after Boxing Day in store.

But Wilder has rejected those claims, admitting: “Far from it.

"There's a school of thought that those sort of games take care of themselves but from our point of view, the mentality has been consistent right the way through.

"The next game is the most important and these ones are just as difficult as Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham or Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"There is no foot off the gas and there's no relaxing. We're not that type of club and I'm not that type of manager.

"If we have an off day, it is through mistakes and not attitude.

"Expectation levels have risen and we're ahead of a group of clubs that are tightly-placed in terms of points so it is really important that we move onto the next game."