Another underlying issue Sheffield United must address this summer as “heavy shirt” claim highlights key concern
Sheffield United’s struggles this season have exposed a deeper issue around how their players handle the expectation of playing for the Blades, with Chris Wilder admitting the “shirt becomes heavier” during difficult runs.
Chris Wilder has been consistent in his belief that Sheffield United, over the last few years, are a top 25 club in English football, and the statistics certainly back up that belief. The results may have wavered this season, but the expectation levels from the terraces haven’t.
Fan frustration seemed to grow and grow with every game of a recent winless streak of six, which came to a welcome end on Saturday against Hull City. United may theoretically not have anything to play for - they are, as the song goes, “not going down, not going up” - but that does not mean the pressure has evaporated.
There is a private suspicion behind the scenes at Bramall Lane that the weight of that expectation has been too much for some players this season, that the shirt weighs too heavily upon their shoulders.
And that is something that will be addressed in the transfer market this summer, when the focus is placed on experienced heads who not only know their way around the Championship but can handle everything else that comes with playing for the Blades.
Another underlying issue Sheffield United must address this summer as “heavy shirt” claim highlights key concern
“There's an expectation level now, because we've created that,” said Wilder ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Watford. “And I never shy away from that and never use that as an excuse. We have to handle that. And when you don't win a game for six games at this football club, then the shirt, as I said, becomes heavier. The expectation level is big.
”We've done that. Because of the progression of the football club over the last 10 years. And nobody would have turned that down. So, of course you have to sometimes balance it out and sometimes we don't. We don't balance it out. Some people will be sensible about it and some people won't.
“But I can't control that. All I can control is us. And, of course, you have to have a big personality and character to play for this football club because of what I just said. There are 27,000, 28,000, 29,000 supporters who expect a performance and expect a result.
“And we have to deal with that. I try to make the shirt as light as possible for the players and take the pressure and the heat off them. And in general, over that period, they have done because they wouldn't have produced the performances and got the results that we have. And be in the position of a top 25 English club in the pyramid.”
Wilder’s desire to trim the size of his squad is well-documented, with too many United players currently training in the week with no realistic chance of making the matchday 20. Any players who join in the summer will not just be making up the numbers.
“It’s not about padding it out,” Wilder continued. “I'm not going to bring players in thinking: ‘If he gets injured, he goes in.’ The players that we want to bring in are going to be pushing for a start. They will have that desire and character to win.
“And then deal with the moments. We look at Millwall, and I know they've been on the build for three or four transfer windows. But when you look at their team, they're an experienced group and they enjoy the suffering.
“They dig in when they have to, they grind out results when they have to. They turn losses into draws, draws into wins, all that stuff. And that's been our soft spot. I don't think we're soft, unbelievably, in terms of a huge mentality, turning it in.
“We're not short on bravery in terms of challenges and work ethic. It's just those big moments really that we need to deal with. I think we know where we are and what we want to do. Now we want a big finish.”