WE MUST GET DOWN AND DIRTY

Wilder fears Blades are not streetwise enough

CHRIS WILDER admits he may have to resort to “dark arts” to haul rockbottom Sheffield United out of trouble.

The Blades boss is facing a desperate relegation battle after his men were outclassed 4-1 at Chelsea to leave them with just a single point from seven games.

Wilder fears they need to become more streetwise and match oth er clubs for cynicism, saying: “My team are hugely naive at times but we’re not very good at the dark arts of the game and t h a t ’s a predicament I ’m i n as a manager.

“Do I think we have to consider going down that road? I do, yeah... cheap fouls, people going over, blocks in the penalty area, tactical fouls. Other players just go down and i t ’s something that seems very consistent in the Premier League but obviously it’s not consistent to us as a team.

“I’ve been told by a lot of people who follow us and some decent people who follow us that I shouldn’t be so naive and should smarten myself up. I’m not sure if I want to go down that road but teams seem so comfortable with it.

“Some clubs, some managers, some teams – and I’m not talking about today – seem so comfortable with it. They don’t bat an eyelid and it seems they gain advantages that attitude towards the game brings.”

The Blades were l a st season’s surprise package, threatening to qualify for Europe until they ran out of steam after lockdown.

Wilder said: “It “would be quite dangerous to change the major part of our game, we j just need to be better at

Wilder knows his side must learn the ‘dark arts’ – but does not want to go there it. The goals we conceded at Chelsea were not part of a system being sussed and giving the ball away cheaply is not part of a system that’s been sussed.

“We’ve played four of the top five and have to be realistic, those games will not define our season. In the next 10 games, if we only win one, that will possibly decide our future as you’ll be halfway through the season with only half a dozen points, which won’t be enough to get out of the situation.

“There’s no magic wand . During the international break we can cool our heads and that team spirit people talk about will be tested to the full.”

BIT OF A HEADACHE