Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder will be hoping his team can maintain a top-six spot ahead of a busy Christmas schedule.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has revealed that his players chuckled” when he asked them if they are ‘contenders’ or ‘pretenders’ in the race for promotion.
The Blades currently occupy a play-off spot in the Championship, but they could be knocked out of the top-six if they drop points away at Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Wilder’s side has suffered two crushing defeats on home soil in recent weeks, to promotion rivals Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion.
The fifth-placed Yorkshire outfit could potentially go third at the weekend as Wilder revealed the strange reaction from his players when he posed this serious question: ‘Do we want to be contenders or pretenders?’
“They had a bit of a chuckle when I asked them the question but it’s the right way to go about it,” said Wilder as quoted by the Star.
“People say that we shouldn’t be where we are, and maybe we shouldn’t, but we are, so let’s give it a right go.”
Following promotion to the second tier of English football in 2017, Sheffield United secured a respectable tenth-place finish last season, and they will be looking for a top-six finish this time around.
Wilder’s side are one of the most open and attacking teams in the Championship, as they have scored 35 goals from their 22 matches and conceded 26.
Third-placed West Brom currently have the most potent attack in the second tier, with Darren Moore’s side scoring 46 goals from 22 games – three more than the next best.
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