Two goals from Patrick Bamford secured a 2-0 victory for Sheffield United at Vicarage Road this afternoon, with boss Chris Wilder praising his side’s focus and professionalism as they continue to build momentum despite having little left to play for this season.

Chris Wilder hailed the mentality of his Sheffield United players after they returned from Watford with a deserved 2-0 victory at Vicarage Road. The Blades have nothing to play for in terms of promotion or relegation but they are not on the beach just yet.

A brace from Patrick Bamford moved United up to 12th with just three games of an underwhelming season to go, before the real work starts in a key summer to ensure that United don’t end up in a similar position next term.

With Watford also safe from relegation and out of the promotion picture, there was a chance that this game could have petered out into a typical end-of-season borefest. But instead United began with a spring in their step and when they went ahead, there was little doubt about what the outcome would be as they recorded their fifth consecutive victory over Watford.

“It was a sunny day, warm conditions, and it was important that we didn't turn it into a pre-season friendly,” Wilder said. “I thought the attitude of the players was good. They've got threats, especially at the top of the pitch.

“They’ve got [Imrân] Louza, who I think is arguably one of the best midfield players in the division. And other players as well who are really good in this division. So we had to be diligent out of possession and do a job on them.

“And in possession, we wanted to obviously go and try and win the game. And we did. We started off well, started off the first half pretty well. They found a couple of their moments, and maybe they think they should have done better with.

“But I thought once we got our noses in front, I thought we were set to stay. And I'm delighted that the experienced boys helped us in terms of the game management aspect. The game went completely flat, and that's obviously a big objective when you're one, and especially two ahead away from home.”

After a season which has seen them lose almost 30 points from winning positions, the sight of the Blades comfortably seeing out victory will give Unitedites further encouragement as the season end draws ever closer.

“We went to three at the back with 15 minutes to go, and that was the right thing tactically,” Wilder added. “It was a touch early for my liking but with our past record, in terms of the amount of points that we've given away, I think it was the right thing to do and the boys saw it out brilliantly.

“It’s another good feeling on a Saturday afternoon at five o'clock for everybody connected to the football club. That lovely winning feeling that we're going to have now until Wednesday [when they face Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane] and we want to keep going until the end of the season.”