Sheffield United Women already facing a pivotal clash so early in season
Sheffield United Women take on Durham at Bramall Lane this weekend
It’s far too early to be talking about six-pointers but Sheffield United Women do have a hugely important fixture this weekend.
The Blades have yet to get a point on the board and in the past three games, in all competitions, have conceded 17 goals - albeit 10 of those came against Manchester United in the cup earlier this week.
The only other team that still has a zero beside their name is Durham and that’s who are heading to Bramall Lane this weekend.
A lot of the messaging around United so far has been that this is a young team that needs a little time to connect. However, there will come a point where they can’t use that excuse any longer.
This week’s clash with Durham represents an opportunity to kickstart their season but it could also go the other way and damage morale.
“We've got to respond,” said coach Stephen Healy. “We know we've got a big game on Sunday and we need to sleep it off, get back on the training pitch, be together.
“That's the most important thing in these moments is making sure we're together, we're unified in everything we do and, yes, approach Sunday in the right way, in the right frame of mind.”
He added: “They've got to make sure that they're together, we're together, the staff are together in this, in pushing what we want to achieve.
“And again, I know I've said it before, there's a lot of ability and a lot of talent in this group. But first and foremost, they need to start looking at themselves in the mirror as well to get that positive response.”