Sky Sports pundit tells Ruben Selles what he must change at Sheffield United after shocking start

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Sheffield United have endured a winless start to the season, and Jobi McAnuff believes Ruben Selles must change his tactics quickly.

Sheffield United were tipped as title favourites for the 2025/26 Championship campaign, but their opening exchanges of the season have exhibited relegation form.

After Ruben Selles was appointed as Chris Wilder’s successor, the Spaniard has overseen five defeats from his first five competitive games in charge of the Blades.

As a result, pressure has been mounting on the Blades boss, and EFL Analysis exclusively revealed this week that Sheffield United chiefs will give Selles time to turn the nightmare start to the season around.

After the international break, rock-bottom Sheffield United travel to title-hopefuls Ipswich Town for a difficult test, and Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuff has now told Selles he must make changes.

• READ MORE: Sheffield United told they did a ‘very good’ deal for less than £3 million this summer

Pundit tells Ruben Selles to change his Sheffield United tactics

After league defeats on the bounce, some Sheffield United fans want Selles sacked already after the first month of the season.

In a damning illustration of the Blades’ woes, their steel city neighbours Sheffield Wednesday sit above them in the table, despite all of the ongoing financial and footballing issues at Hillsborough.

Sheffield United have been lacklustre in attack and have shipped almost two goals per game so far this season, and former Reading star McAnuff believes Selles must change tactics fast before the axe falls.

Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuff told the EFL essential podcast: “I think disaster pretty much sums it up in terms of results for sure.

“You see the scenes at the end of the last game as well against Middlesbrough (after 1-0 defeat) with Ruben Selles going over to the fans.

“They clearly are not happy with him. I’ve got to say, you know, fair play to him for fronting it up, fair play to him, stuck his chest out, went over to the fans.

“Again, it’s more than just that though, it’s all well and good sort of saying ‘I’m the man for the job’.

“You’ve got to be able to show that you are capable of doing it. And from what I’ve seen so far, I have my doubts just in terms of how they set up.

“I mean, you’re going away to Middlesbrough the other day and you’ve got Sydie Peck, Gus Hamer and Callum O’Hare as your midfield three, it’s too open.

“You’re going up against a really good team, started the season well, strong in midfield. Even if you’ve got an idea and a philosophy, I know from his time at Reading, the out-of-possession stuff, he wants to be aggressive, wants to get high and press.

“But some games you just have to tweak things a little bit. I think there’s been a real naivety about how he sets the team up in the early part of this season.

“It’s something he’s got to learn from fast because they are a team, as I’ve said at this level, that is not acceptable.

“That is not good enough. And if he doesn’t make those adjustments quickly, there’s only one way that this is going to end.”

• READ MORE: Sheffield United fanbase left divided over departure of Chris Wilder signing who left on a free

Sheffield United did not solve major issue in the transfer window

The Blades’ early-season form placed massive emphasis on their recruitment towards the end of the transfer window.

With their backline anything but solid, the addition of Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga will be Sheffield United’s key signing this summer, as the former Spurs centre-back will help to plug the Blades’ leaky defence.

After Nils Zatterstrom and Ben Godfrey also arrived, those fresh faces should start to solidify the Sheffield United backline, but issues still persist in the final third.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
24	Sheffield UtdSheffield Utd	4	0	0	4	1	7	-6	0

One EFL expert lamented Sheffield United’s problem that was not fixed in the transfer window which was their failure to recruit more forwards.

With Kieffer Moore’s move to Wrexham, the goalscoring burden at centre-forward now falls on Tyrese Campbell and late window signing Danny Ings.

Although McAnuff’s verdict of the Blades’ defensive resolution is correct, the lack of goal threat is equally imperative for Selles to solve before time runs out for the Spaniard at Bramall Lane.