Nothing to worry about just yet, they’re being brought in slowly.
That was the message that Blades boss Chris Wilder wanted to get out when it came to the squad this pre-season. There have been a few absences so far when it comes to pre-season, with some players being left behind for a multitude of reasons, and with the final game set to take place tomorrow against Preston North End, time is running out if those players to get some crucial minutes under their belts before we kick off the season against Wolves.
Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Wilder gave a brief update on said absences and explained what will be happening to those players who have been rarely seen in pre-season so far:
“Lunny will be involved on Friday and we are hopeful that Jack [O’Connell] will be involved, too. That will be another boost to us for them to get minutes under their belts on Friday and Oli McBurnie to get the same amount.”
If I’m being honest, it’s not these kinds of players that I’m particularly worried about when it comes to minutes in pre-season, they are already used to Wilder’s system at Bramall Lane, and it shouldn’t really take them that long to get back up to full speed and where they were towards the end of last season.
The Blades will finish ______ than last season?
Higher
Lower
It’s the players that we are yet to buy that are my problem, and as I said yesterday time is very much running out when it comes to getting them the minutes that are going to be needed to get up to speed in Wilder’s system. So when and if these signings do come through the door, I think they should be the ones that get priority when it comes to minutes.
Where they are going to come from though next week is a different matter, hopefully the club can arrange another friendly to take place before the start of the season, otherwise those new players are going to be thrown in at the deep end and might start struggling in the first few weeks.
And a struggle for them means a slow start for us.