Manager Chris Wilder has said that Sheffield United’s performance against Nottingham Forest had deserved more than a defeat at the weekend.
Heading to the City Ground on Saturday, United fell to a two one defeat despite us taking the lead through John Lundstram in the third minute and Wilder told the Yorkshire Post that whilst the players might have been expecting an ear full at the full time whistle, he knew the performance had deserved more and he couldn’t criticise them on that front.
‘I don`t know whether to cry or smile, but I think I will go down the smiling route because it was confirmed today that my team has landed in the Championship, with the performance we produced. It was an outstanding performance, one that did not get rewarded with a win.’
He went on to say.
‘But I am not going soft because we have won games this season and I want us to win games moving forward. Some of the boys might have expected a rocket today. They do not deserve a rocket. People will walk away from this game and see what we have done to Nottingham Forest. We have not married up a performance with a result. We made a couple of mistakes that were clinically punished. But we pushed them back, pushed them back and pushed them back. It was an outstanding performance against a good side.’
Goalscorer Lundstram was also speaking to the Star following the game, and despite the defeat he felt our targets for the season had still changed given our start.
‘We`re not stopping here, we really believe we can go and carry this form on. We`ve shown we`re here in the division and we`ve shown that we`re not just happy being a mid-table club. We want to push on and move forward. Everyone knows how together we are and that, I think shines through.’
Lundstram went on to say.
‘We have no fear and that`s the manager`s philosophy. That`s down to him and massive credit to him for that. We usually reap the rewards but, for some reason out there, the result just didn`t come today. But I thought the boys were brilliant. This is Forest, they`re no small club are they? In my opinion, we dominated pretty much all of the game. We can take courage from that moving forward, you can see the energy levels are really good. If you`d have offered us this position, at this time, then I think most fans would have taken it. The challenge now is to make sure our form continues after the break.’
With Wilder confirming that Ched Evans had missed the game as he’s set for an ankle operation, we are also waiting on news on George Baldock who was substituted in the game. He’s pulled his calf but a full assessment needs to be done on him.
