Sheffield United players sent "48 hours" warning after Oxford defeat shakes up Burnley, Leeds United battle

Sheffield United’s players are facing “a long 48 hours,” manager Chris Wilder has warned, after yesterday’s untimely defeat at Oxford United shook up the race for the Premier League once again. The Blades kicked off at the Kassam knowing that victory would open up a four-point gap over third-placed Leeds United after they could only draw at Luton.

But the Blades’ 1-0 reverse at Oxford saw them slip to second, behind new leaders Burnley after they beat Coventry City and just a point ahead of Daniel Farke’s Leeds in third. The game saw United’s superb away record come to a shuddering end, with a brutally honest Wilder admitting afterwards that United didn’t deserve anything from the game.

But with just six games of the regular season to go, United’s destiny remains in their own hands as they look to get back into the Premier League at the first attempt. A quick turnaround offers a chance to get the Oxford defeat out of their systems when Millwall visit Bramall Lane on Tuesday night, but Wilder warned: “It'll still be a long 48 hours for the players. We didn't do enough. So we have to suffer the consequences of a below-par performance.

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“There’s not an unbelievable margin for error because I think all three teams will go to the end. So, we have to recover pretty quickly because we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We can't feel sorry for ourselves as a football club. We've got to get back on the bus, produce a performance on Tuesday night and hopefully put this to bed.

“This is what the Championship is all about, and as everybody talks about. I've managed loads of games in it, and the game is not won on a coupon. It's won on the pitch, and we just didn't do enough to win a game.”

A small section in the away end appeared to berate United’s players at the end of the game as they came over to applaud their travelling support. Asked afterwards if his side have to keep going now, Wilder replied: “We’re not going to stop. We’re on 85 points [including the two they were deducted in the summer]. We can’t just go home and sulk and feel sorry for ourselves.”

Wilder’s opposite number Gary Rowett hailed a “massive performance” that gives his side fresh belief that they can survive in the Championship this season. “From the word go, I felt we looked on it,” he said. “We looked like we were up for the fight, and we looked like we wanted to make it a very competitive game.

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“I felt that with the conditions, with the opposition we’re playing against, we had to make it a little bit scruffy and a little bit of a fight. We know how good of a side they are, and at this stage of the season, it’s just about trying to get the results you need.

“It’s not about how they come about. One thing that did help was that I thought the atmosphere was brilliant from the start. That makes such a massive difference to me, to the staff, and to the players.”