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The gap between Sheffield United and the Championship play-off spots is getting wider game by game, and many are wondering what it will actually take for them to catch up.
The Blades lost the play-off final to Sunderland last season after recording 92 points and missing out on the automatic promotion spots. Chris Wilder was sacked as a result and Ruben Selles succeeded him, however even the biggest of Wilder lovers won’t have foreseen the huge decline the Blades have suffered since.
United sit rock bottom of the Championship after six games played, with Selles losing his job after the first five and Wilder, who subsequently returned much to COH Sports’ embarrassment, losing his first game back. They are currently pointless, having scored just one league goal, and even sit behind chaos club and rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Former striker Cameron Jermone thinks the club have until Christmas to keep in the race. Now, it’s been revealed exactly how many points Sheffield United will need to accumulate if they want to have any hope of going up this term.
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Sheffield United win target revealed after pointless start under Ruben Selles
BBC Sheffield’s Adam Oxley has broken down exactly how many wins the Blades need to finish in the Championship top six and play-off spots.
“On average, it takes 78 points to achieve a place in the Championship play-offs,” he said. “This means the Blades would now need to win 26 of their remaining 40 league games.”
Last season, United won 28 of their league games as they finished third behind Leeds United and Burnley.
Sixth place Bristol City finished with just 17 wins, while Norwich won 21 the season prior. While managing 26 victories isn’t impossible, it will be a big ask for Wilder to achieve that while his side are so low on confidence.
Sheffield United can look to Nottingham Forest for promotion inspiration
The Blades’ hopes of a promotion via the play-offs aren’t completely done and dusted.
Nottingham Forest went up to the Premier League via the play-offs after beating Huddersfield Town at Wembley. That was despite picking up just one point from their first seven games.
Much like United, Forest made an early sacking, relieving Chris Hughton and bringing in Steve Cooper.
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The Welshman won four out of his five first league games in charge, drawing the other clash and ended the season in fourth. Blades fans will be praying Wilder can pull off a similar feat to revive their season.