Chris Wilder assesses Sheffield United 2, Portsmouth 1

The Star, Sheffield

Chris Wilder's verdict on Sheffield United's victory over Portsmouth despite a below-par display from his side at Bramall Lane. Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield

Transcript

00:00Chris, you had to dig in, but you get the win in the end.

00:03Yeah, I think it's something that, Rob, I think Sheffield United fans will come to expect from me

00:10and I'd like to think respect my opinion on it right the way through.

00:15I think there's been a few managers and I think there still is a load of managers that want to spin

00:23and talk about the game and spin how good they are

00:28and spin the game as well, say we were OK and we deserved this

00:33and we should have won 4-0 and we should have been 5-0 up at half-time or this, that and the other.

00:38I've never been one of those.

00:41I think maybe my roots and where I come from and where I live can't con the supporters

00:48and we weren't very good today and it's simple as that.

00:52It was one that we've escaped with because they have the ability to win a game of football

01:02when we didn't play very well and we didn't.

01:04They were better than us in all departments, first and second balls

01:07and if somebody comes on and goes tactically this, that and the other,

01:10it wasn't anything to do with tactics today, it was about an attitude towards the game

01:15which I told them at half-time, it's quite difficult because I know all those players

01:20and we looked to shortcut the game which is really surprising and we won't do that again.

01:25There's an arrogance about us.

01:30I want us to have belief, I want us to be confident, I want us to stick our chest out

01:34and believe that we've got some good players at the football club and we're a good team

01:37because we are, because we've won as many games as anybody in the division

01:41and on 60-odd points and the reaction in the second half was better

01:45even though it wasn't to my unbelievable liking.

01:49There's a little bit of an arrogance about us at half-time which I talked about

01:53and we can't afford that to happen so a massive reflection on the game tonight

01:59by the players, by myself and the staff.

02:03There'll be a review on Monday morning on it but we have that lovely habit

02:08and a brilliant habit of winning games of football which is massively important.

02:12Keep talking about it, you know, championship season, if we achieve what we want to achieve

02:18maybe this might be a distant memory but what I will say it isn't a distant memory now

02:23it's a memory that is going to be in my head all over the weekend and into the players

02:31because if we think that is going to be the stock standard performance from our point of view

02:37then we're going to get hurt and we're not going to achieve anything.

02:40There's one moment in the game I wanted to ask you about.

02:43Jack Robinson comes from nowhere, commits, slides in, puts the striker off, doesn't take the chance

02:49a few minutes later it's 2-1. How big is a moment like that for you captain?

02:53Yeah it is but I've got to say all over the park I didn't think we were very good.

02:57I thought Ari Clarke came on to a game second half up against a difficult opponent

03:04but I thought the back four, we never saw out corner runs, we defended the box really poorly

03:10they should have been two up at half time, two centre halves got bullied all over the place

03:14I thought Harrison was not at the races today, two midfield players, the distance is too far apart

03:21two centre fours never held it up, we never got anything off the right first half

03:28Gus was our best player coming into the pocket by a million miles all game

03:33and they won first and second balls and we talked about it at half time, it's championship football

03:39it's not let's just turn up and stroll around and think we're this footballing side that can out football

03:44in teams all over the place, this is championship football and at times it's about first and second balls

03:49and about playing forward and playing effective football and we didn't do any of that at all first off

03:53and earning the right and they had all this bits and pieces about HGs and this and that

03:59and connected passes and stuff like that. The game will never change, it will never change

04:04it will be about that first thing, it has to come first and it didn't come first today

04:08it came first in parts second half but we gave too many free kicks away

04:13that allowed them just to pump the ball in and they're game and they should have beat Burnley last week

04:18but they haven't beat us so that's a bonus for us but they could quite easily have done that

04:24if they had took their chances so I think if I'm their manager I think I'll be extremely disappointed

04:30and me, as I talked about at the start of the interview, it's not good enough today, it wasn't good enough

04:35last week I can give them a little bit of leeway because the pitch was really poor

04:40and they go man for man all over the pitch and we've got new players coming into the team

04:45today that excuse has gone and we need to be better individually and overall

04:53but like I said, lovely, beautiful habit of winning games football, had that ability to change it around

05:02and the combination of Rhian and Jez coming onto the pitch and getting the goal was good for us

05:08which we haven't had that ability to do as well.

05:10I want to ask you about that because a few games ago you were looking at a very inexperienced bench

05:14to be able to bring the players on that you did and two of them combine for the winning goal, how big is that for you?

05:19I thought Rhian had an impact, I thought Jez had an impact, so they're both pushing forward, couldn't get Cal on the pitch

05:25so there has to be that competition for places which there certainly will be

05:30so if we have to change it around on Wednesday night and change it around for Luton on Saturday we will do

05:34but we have to be so much better and I've never been Alex Ferguson and he's an absolute hero and idol for me

05:41and I don't think it was to the extent of what he said after a famous Scottish Cup final

05:48when they won the Cup and I think they beat Rangers and he had a right pop at the players

05:52but we're along that lines today because we talk about a lot of things that they've done well

05:58and they've done some absolutely magnificent work so far to get ourselves in the position

06:02but we're miles off it today and we can't afford that to happen.

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