'We would die for the shirt' - George Baldock's defiant message to Sheffield United fans after West Ham defeat

George Baldock, the Sheffield United defender, came out fighting after the Blades' 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Sunday, telling the club's supporters: "We would die for the shirt".
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United couldn't arrest their poor run of form against the Hammers at Bramall Lane, with £45m man Sébastien Haller smashing home a second-half winner to keep the Blades rooted to the foot of the Premier League table.

But Chris Wilder's United had their moments in the game too, with Baldock and striker Oli McBurnie forcing West Ham goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański into saves.

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And the wing-back, speaking ahead of this weekend's crunch clash against fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion, insisted: "We are not that far away. It's something the manager speaks about a lot. If we punish teams a little bit more when we get chances, we will be right in games.

"He [Wilder] has been absolutely magnificent with us and we will be putting it right.

"We are not under any illusions - I'm not going to stand here and say we are going to get 50-odd points, like we did last season. The aim is to stay in the division, as it is every season. We know how ruthless this division is.

"We are obviously missing the fans here, but who wouldn't? We get such a good backing here and If I was playing against Sheffield United without 30,000 fans in the stadium, it's a totally different game. They are amongst the best bunch in the country and we miss them. But that's no excuse.

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"We need to put a show on for them watching at home and we are not doing that at the minute. All I can see is that we will be working as hard as we can to put it right and keep the faith. We have 25 lads willing to die for the shirt and we will be going again."

Sheffield United's George Baldock, left, duels for the ball with West Ham's Arthur Masuaku (Cath Ivill/Pool via AP)Sheffield United's George Baldock, left, duels for the ball with West Ham's Arthur Masuaku (Cath Ivill/Pool via AP)
Sheffield United's George Baldock, left, duels for the ball with West Ham's Arthur Masuaku (Cath Ivill/Pool via AP)

Baldock also threw his backing behind manager Wilder, who was asked if he fears for his position in his post-match press conference.

“I haven’t been sacked for 20 years, I don’t fear anything," Wilder responded.

“All I’m concerned about is the situation we are in and how we can get out of it."

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