Stoke City v Sheffield United: Reaction as Blades fall to defeat and fall out of play-offs

We can only focus on ourselves, what we can control and five of the seven at home is great. We’ll approach every game to try and win it. We didn’t do enough to win. I’d have taken it of course but we didn’t do enough and got punished for a moment of sloppiness.

It’s a blow. Billy was pushing and did the sessions to see where he was, but he was aware of his hamstring so today was a bit too soon. Oli hit a shot on Tuesday in training and felt his thigh, so hasn’t trained since. It’d have been too big a risk with the four games coming up, with muscle injuries. We’ve been hit so it would have been too big a risk with them not being 100 per cent.

When we did pass the ball and moved it quickly, we did get through them but we didn’t have the quality. We had moments but then they got their full-backs that bit higher and getting the ball in the box, so we needed to make changes to inject a bit more quality. The goal came as we were making the changes, which is always a tough one to take. We huffed and puffed, got in decent areas but didn’t have the quality to score.

Disappointing result. Performance wasn’t what we were after either, and if ever a game is looking like a 0-0 it’s that one. We showed a lack of quality in the final third really, which didn’t allow us to force the goalkeeper into enough saves and give us a foothold in the game or dominate it.

We’ll happily take the deflection. We haven’t had enough of that so we’ll happily take it.

It’s nice to come out on the right side of it. It was always going to be decided by one goal, I thought we were the better side in the second half and deserved to win it. They’re a very good team, they’ve recovered from a very difficult start and I think they’re as good as Fulham in terms of the points they’ve won. So it was a good performance against a very good side.

and a desparately disappointing afternoon for the Blades as they fall to defeat at Stoke - a poor game, in truth, settled by a moment of fortune rather than magic but United didn’t do enough to go ahead or then get back into it either side of Egan’s own goal. On to Tuesday now against QPR, for a reaction. Stay tuned here for a full match report, player ratings and manager reaction when we have it

from Osborn as the ball falls to him from a throw-in, he takes his time and volleys first-time but it sails just wide of the post

and a fluke goal puts the hosts ahead as Tymer’s cross deflects off Egan and wrongfoots Foderingham completely, just over 12 minutes for the Blades to get back into this one now ...

after the ball finds its way into his path from the left, he looked to place it home but the defender put his body in the way