“It Will Be A Respectable Total” – Blades Target Milestone As Chris Wilder Bangs Drum Ahead of Final Kick-off of the Season

Chris Wilder Wants Sheffield United to Reach Milestone

Despite the lack of pressure in terms of league position, Wilder has set a clear target for his side: reaching the 60-point mark. Reflecting on the campaign, he acknowledged that while progress has been made, from battling near the bottom to achieving mid-table stability, the team ultimately fell short of pushing into the play-off conversation.

Wilder said in his pre-match press conference: “We’re desperately going to try to get to 60 points. There was a challenge last year to get to 90 points when the title and promotion had gone. We got there and that’s a challenge for the team on Saturday. I do believe it will be a respectable total. There were three challenges, to get off the bottom, to get into the mid-table and then to try and progress into the top ten, into the top six. That’s where we’ve stalled. We have to accept that. The table doesn’t lie.

Blades Lacking Cutting Edge But Not Giving Up

He has also pointed to moments of resilience, particularly in recent matches where United fought back from difficult positions, but stressed that standards must improve, especially defensively. Conceding from set pieces, as seen in the defeat to Preston, was described as unacceptable and symbolic of the issues that have held the team back.

He explained: “What I will say is the reaction at half-time against Blackburn; I’ve played in teams and I’ve managed teams, and that becomes messy. That becomes 4-5. I thought the reaction of the players, not that it deserves a pat on the back, but it needs to be noted that they didn’t turn it in, and we got back to 3-1. We had chances to get back to 3-2 and make it interesting.

“To concede the two set plays [against Preston] that we did was ridiculous. You can concede from a set play, but you can’t concede two in the space of 20 minutes and give yourself a mountain to climb. I thought the team came roaring back. I didn’t agree with Paul’ [Heckingbottom] assessment of the game that it could have been three or four.

There is, however, some encouragement heading into the final fixture regarding injury news. Several players, including Jamie Shackleton, Michael Cooper, Tyrese Campbell and Sam McCallum, have returned to training, as the squad prepares ahead for the challenge of next season.

But with pride on the line for Sheffield United and a play-off spot on the line for Derby County, Pride Park is bound to be electric on Saturday afternoon for the Championship finale.