Sheffield United's approach to Man Utd test as Chris Wilder remembers "hollow" Old Trafford victory

Sheffield United’s players have been challenged to put in a “proper man performance” at Manchester United on Wednesday night as they look to recover quickly from Saturday’s home defeat to rivals Burnley. That result left the Blades effectively 11 points adrift of fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest, with just five games to go.

Responding to that disappointment against Erik ten Hag’s side will be a tall order for a side with one league win away from home all season, but boss Chris Wilder and those players who remain can at least take some heart from their last trip to Old Trafford in January 2021, when the class of 2020/21 were also in a relegation struggle but upset the odds to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Kean Bryan and Oliver Burke.

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Sadly no Blades fans were able to witness in person their side’s first win at Old Trafford since the days of Tony Currie and Co. because games were played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This time around United face a Red Devils side fresh from their dramatic FA Cup semi-final win over Championship side Coventry, after extra time and penalties, and who are seventh in the table.

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“Unfortunately [the last game was] in lockdown, which was disappointing,” Wilder said. “Going back to that period, and I stand by it ... the involvement of the crowd is the biggest thing. A packed house at Old Trafford is a special place to go and for no one to personally watch it, it was a hollow win. It was a win but without the supporters.

“This time, we have to stay positive and look at what we can do and address what we can't do. It's a fabulous place to go. There's no downside to going to Old Trafford, going toe to toe with world class players on an incredible stage. See what we can do. I'm sure there'll be respect there, regardless of position and we expect a top performance from Man United and work off that. We're looking to recover from the disappointment and there's no hiding place. Go in there and put on a proper man performance. If we get 15 or 16 of those, who knows what can happen.”