It sounds like there might be a little bit of complacency sneaking in here.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t come back to bite him when all is said and done.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s game with Reading in the F.A Cup, Blades boss Chris Wilder gave an update regarding the team that is likely to play against the Royals:
“We’ve got a couple of injuries, waiting on Enda Stevens. He’ll be fit for Saturday if he misses Tuesday. Whatever team we select I believe is going to be good enough to win a difficult FA Cup tie.”
Now whilst some of this will be dictated by injuries, I just hope that injuries are the only reason why he decides to make changes.
I said last week that his messages in the build-up to the game that he looked like he might be going with a full-strength side in the cup game against Reading, predominantly because I felt that he would want to try and get the momentum back ahead of some tough fixtures coming up in the next couple of weeks.
Add to that the fact that the team hasn’t played a game in ten days since the match against Brighton on the 22nd February, and a game like this against opposition in a lower division is a great way to get things back up to speed before we head back into Premier League action against Norwich City.
Should Wilder play a 'weakened side' against Reading?
Yes
No
Not that I’m totally dismissing Reading as an opposition, they’ve blown hot and cold this season, so on their day they can cause some problems, however it is a great warmup game ahead of getting back to Premier League action.
Which is why I’d hope he goes with a full-strength side so that we can shake off the rust of not playing the past few days, because a weakened team might not only cause us to fall out of the F.A Cup, but could also cost us points against Norwich City on the weekend if half the team isn’t totally up to speed after such a long time off.
So tread carefully with your team selection Wilder, because there’s a very fine line between getting this decision right, and catastrophically wrong.