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Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has issued a rallying cry on the confidence he has in his side ahead of a clash with Burnley.
Sheffield United face Burnley this evening in a six-pointer at the summit of the Championship table.
The Blades will be feeling the pressure ahead of the tie, as a defeat would give their automatic promotion chances a sucker punch, whilst a draw wouldn’t make it statistically impossible, but would still be an insourmable amount of ground to make up.
After an unwanted run of three Championship defeats, Sheffield United made amends with a victory against Cardiff City, and that has partly given the Blades ‘belief’ that they can outshine Scott Parker’s resolute Burnley, as shown by Chris Wilder’s passionate comments ahead of their biggest game of the season so far.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder issues ‘confident’ verdict ahead of Burnley
Wilder’s side currently find themselves with a five-point gap to make up on Leeds United and Burnley, who both sit on 91 points in comparison to Sheffield United’s 86, a total that was deducted by two ahead of the season.
Despite having a mountain to climb to reach the automatic promotion spots, Sheffield United boss Wilder is still full of confidence, and explains that his side are in a similar frame of mind.
Per The Star, Wilder said: “It’s going to be a hell of a game, but we’re confident,” Wilder said. “We’ve got belief in what we’ve done. Our away record before Oxford and Plymouth was outstanding, and we’re going to have to produce a performance on Monday night.
“There are nine points to play for, and the gap is five. Who would have thought we’d have lost three games? We just have to take care of our preparation and make sure we put a top performance in. As you’ve seen in the history of football, games aren’t won in current form or by teams that are at home.
“It can be unpredictable at times. We’ll go into it as chasers and they’ll be big favourites, because of their form and their results over a long period of time. And our recent form and results. But it’s not decided on that, and we have to upset the odds and do what we need to do for our football club.”
Chris Wilder’s tangible confidence will be needed to overthrow a resolute Burnley side
As things stand, Sheffield United have a massive task ahead of them in the Championship, which involves getting a win against Scott Parker’s Burnley, who are 30 league games unbeaten.
Many sides in this situation would have rolled over and begun preparations for the Championship play-offs, but Wilder certainly isn’t going to give up until it’s mathematically impossible, a bold decision that truly reflects on his never-say-die attitude.
Sheffield United will need to settle into the game with as much confidence as possible in order to stand any hope of notching a win against a Burnley side that has lost just twice this season.