”Why would it?” - Chris Wilder hits back at another Sheffield United fan criticism | OneFootball

The Blades' boss has had some got flack off of the club's supporters in the past two weeks.

Chris Wilder has hit back at the claims that his Sheffield United side have taken a negative approach to their last three games, all of which they lost.

For some Blades supporters it will feel like the last couple of weeks have completely killed their hopes of automatic promotion. They failed to pick up any points against Oxford United, Millwall and Plymouth Argyle, handing Burnley and Leeds United a five-point lead over them with four games left to play.

Wilder and his players have received some heat in the aftermath of their poor run for not taking games by the scruff of the neck, but the boss has insisted that this was not how he wanted his team to play.

Chris Wilder responds to "negative" fan criticism

Speaking ahead of the Blades' crucial fixture this Friday against Cardiff City, Wilder questioned why anyone would think that he'd want United to play in a negative fashion across the recent three losses.

"Well we haven't been negative in our approach because we have had 70-odd per cent possession," said the United manager, via Football Heaven. "We haven't been good enough, really, is the simplistic assessment, from my point of view.

"You've heard all sorts of things. Players are fighting amongst each other, this, that and the other; everyone wants to sensationalise it. We haven't been good enough, and it's as simple as that.

"From a statistical point of view we've had enough ball in three games, we've had 70 per cent of possession. So that's us with the ball - we've not been negative.

"The approach hasn't changed from the Coventry game. Why would it change? Why would we go from playing against Coventry, one of our best performances of the season, to suddenly going to a negative approach in all three games? We wouldn't and we haven't, we just haven't been good enough.

"Defensively, we've conceded some really poor goals. The bit in between, from box to box, we've had control of the game - 70 per cent possession. In terms of the opportunities and where we want to get the ball, we've not been good enough at the top of the pitch. The forward players haven't created enough and we've not been clinical enough in our finishing, and the stats back all that up.

Wilder continued: "I'm not stood in front of the players on Saturday saying to them 'Let's sit back for a 1-0 win.' I've never said that. I can't remember any time when I've said that in any period here.

"We knew that we had to get the second goal. We wanted to dominate possession, we wanted to be clinical in our approach. But we haven't been good enough at the top of the pitch. The players that we have got should be creating more and we should be finishing off chances.

"We had chances against Oxford, we had chances against Millwall in the home game, and we should be creating more chances. So the quality and the talent that we've got in the group, whether it's out of possession or in possession, we haven't been good enough and we have to all accept the criticism that goes with losing three games that we should have definitely won two out of the three.

"You can't lose against a team that's bottom of the league on form away from home, you can't lose against a team that's bottom of the league. So we have to accept that goes, and I'm absolutely happy to do that and understand the narrative at the moment will be that that's it, that's our season done and dusted.

"I always think, on stuff like this, that the only real reflection you can make it as the end of the season on how the season has been. We've still got four games to go. We need to adjust things pretty quickly, we totally understand that, we need to adjust it on Friday.

"There will be sections of our supporters who will be ultra-critical, and have every right to be. There will be sections of supporters who will be in the middle and there will be sections of our supporters who will be really positive. I can't do anything about that.

"What I can do is try and affect the group to be better, by working hard this week, which they have done, and by putting in a better performance in at both ends of the pitch that ultimately gives us the opportunity to win a game of Championship football."

It's not over yet for Sheffield United

A lot can change in four games, especially considering the Blades face Burnley on Easter Monday. Win that game, which admittedly won't be an easy task, and that's already half of the points needed to catch them taken care of; the Blades will probably need six points more than either Burnley or Leeds due to their significantly worse goal difference compared to the top two.

It's certainly unlikely that Wilder's men will make it into the top two from this point, but it's not quite done and dusted.