SHEFFIELD United and Scotland defender Gary Naysmith admits that he let down former manager Bryan Robson.

Naysmith was one of Robson's signings last summer, but failed to hit top form after arriving in a £1m deal from Everton.

Robson was sacked after just nine months, but several of his signings still have a major role to play in the club's future.

Striker Billy Sharp, midfielder Gary Speed, defender Ugo Ehiogu and winger David Cotterill are all likely to be involved in today's home game while striker James Beattie is scheduled to return in a fortnight after knee surgery.

Naysmith said: "We were well-equipped to go up last season, but I think we let ourselves down. I can't speak for the other boys, but I don't think I played well enough under Robson.

"He was the manager who signed me and I don't think I did enough. I was trying, but my performances were just not there. I have tried to look at it, but I just can't put my finger on the reason why. As a team, and as individuals, it took us a while to adjust to Championship football. It is different from the Premier League and maybe that was one of the factors.

"You look at the bigger picture and if four or five of us had played better, we would have got better results, and maybe the gaffer would not have got the stick."

Results improved rapidly after Robson's departure and, under the guidance of new manager Kevin Blackwell, the Blades have made an impressive start this time, winning four games out of five. "There are many cases where a manager gets sacked and the new manager comes in with the same players and the team goes on a run," reflected Naysmith. "It happens at other clubs every season. If we win on Saturday that will be nine points from 12, and we are also in the third round of the Carling Cup. That's a good start."

Naysmith will join the Scotland squad after today's game to prepare for World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Iceland.

Manager George Burley has no qualms about selecting players from the Championship and Naysmith is hoping to win his 50th international cap later this season.

Blades manager Blackwell will not be allowing any players to leave the club on loan prior to Monday night's closing of the transfer window.

Former Blades manager Neil Warnock is keen to loan both Danny Webber and Derek Geary but Blackwell is only interested in permanent deals.

"We have had one or two enquiries about players leaving on loan, but no one will be going out on loan at this stage," he said. "After the transfer window, we might look at it again."

Blackwell added: "I find it strange that people panic in our divisions. You can do loan deals afterwards although it's always nicer to have a settled squad and not have to rely on loan players."

Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsale has rejected multi-million-pound offers for defender Roger Johnson and winger Joe Ledley in the last few days.