Sheffield United not weighed down by play-off pain with "freshness" feel ahead of Sunderland final
Sheffield United not weighed down by previous play-off pain with "fresh" feel ahead of Sunderland final
Chris Wilder is convinced that his Sheffield United side have the ability to put the Blades’ long play-off hoodoo to bed - and, arguably more importantly, the mentality as well. United’s past record in the end-of-season shootout is unenviable, with no successes from their nine attempts in the modern era - including a relegation play-off when Wilder was a Blades player.
But this is a fresh group unscarred by what has gone on in the past, and a 6-0 aggregate win in the semi-finals against Bristol City has also gone a long way to convincing a fanbase that this could finally be the year that things begin to turn.
The same conversations will be happening up the A1 in Sunderland, with the Black Cats also having a pretty poor play-off record in their past attempts. But things will change for one of the sides under the Wembley arch on May 24, which will kick off at 3pm after the start time was finally confirmed by the EFL yesterday - just the nine days before the final.
"I don't feel there's a negativity because of our previous campaigns,” Wilder insisted. “There feels like a freshness about it, a real belief that we can make history and put to bed all the other things that have gone on previously.
"I've witnessed the majority of it! We've been on a journey since 2016. Six years in League One, and don't think anyone thought we'd get out of League One in our first season.
"We've had to suffer other things. I reference Newcastle all the time regarding it. The Geordies turned up at Wembley and got the job done. There are great examples of that, just as many as the negative parts of it.”
Wilder has referenced Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win earlier this season a few times towards the end of the campaign, with the Magpies ending a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy when they overcame Liverpool at Wembley back in March.
United are looking to rewrite history themselves and will step out at Wembley later this month knowing they can poetically end a 100 year wait for a win at Wembley to get the Blades back into the Premier League - and cement their place in this club’s history in the process.
Asked about his side potentially being weighed down by records of the past, Wilder insisted: "They've not weighed me down. There's always the cautious part of the game we all deal with.
"I've played a lot of games as a player and seen the majority of things in that time and as a manager as well. You have to be mindful of those things and getting the balance right but we're creating opportunities to make memories and deliver moments for the players and the supporters. We're going to have to have one last big effort."